Photo Credit: Zinkevych

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently issued an updated recommendation on vitamin D supplementation. The researchers reviewed 20 randomized controlled trials; eight were conducted exclusively among postmenopausal women, and the rest included men (50 years or older) and postmenopausal women. The pooled risk ratio for vitamin D supplementation, with or without calcium, was 0.99 (95% CI, 0.86-1.13) compared with control, corresponding to an absolute risk difference of zero fewer hip fractures per 1,000 supplemented. For the incidence of one or more falls, the pooled relative risk for vitamin D supplementation, with or without calcium, was 0.99 versus control (95% CI, 0.97-1.01), corresponding to an absolute risk difference of five fewer participants with one or more falls per 1,000 supplemented. The USPSTF therefore recommended against supplementation with vitamin D, with or without calcium, for the primary prevention of fractures or falls in community-dwelling postmenopausal women and men 60 years or older (D recommendation).