One of the most common treatments for weak bones is taking Vitamin D found in capsules, tablets or even dairy foods. It is also one of the most prescribed vitamins to elderly people as it helps them strengthen their bones that have started to become brittle and thin. However, a new study published in The Time showed that prescribing Vitamin D to senior citizens may not help at all.
A team of researchers from various universities in Switzerland, the United States has conducted a 12-month study in order to identify whether giving high dosages of Vitamin D to elders helps their bones and reduces the risk of falling. As for the group's study, which is now published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the researchers gathered 200 people whose ages are 70 and older and have had a history of falls within the past year. Out of these 200 people, 58 percent of them were found out to be Vitamin D efficient prior to the test.
The researchers then divided them into three groups. The first one received a controlled dosage of 4,000 IU vitamin D3, the second group on the other hand was given a monthly dose of 60,000 IU vitamin D3, while the third group got a monthly dose of 24,000 IU vitamin D3 coupled with calcifediol. After 12 months, the team of researchers led by Dr. Heike Bischoff-Ferrari, chair of geriatrics and aging research at the University Hospital Zurich and study author, found out that the second and third groups that received a higher dose of Vitamin D did not benefit at all. More than half of the people that belonged to this group also experienced falling on the duration of the tracking period.
They also discovered that only less than half of the people in the first group has experienced falling within the past 12 months. Dr. Bischoff-Ferrari stated that they have expected that the people who were given a higher dosage of Vitamin D will benefit more than those who were not. That's why they are very surprised when the study result showed the opposite.
