In spite of current thinking, it turns out that vitamin D and calcium actually don’t reduce the risk of falls or fractures in healthy older adults, according to a new draft recommendation from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). About 14 million adults aged 65 years or older (27.6%) reported falling at least once in the previous year, making falls the leading cause of unintentional injury among older adults. However, the task force recommends against relying on vitamin D and calcium for prevention. That’s because researchers found that there was no level of dosing that was associated with any benefit. Older adults may still need to take vitamin D or calcium for overall health but supplements are not worthwhile for the sake of protection from fractures or to reduce the risk of falls. Even so, incidence rates of fragility fractures have been decreasing. The draft recommendation is not final and remains open for public comment through January 21 on the USPSTF website.
Your resource on fractures: Read more about fractures by visiting the JUCM Orthopedic Case Series. Each month, a new case offers insight on identification and treatment of common fractures and associated conditions.