USPSTF Recommends Against Vitamin D Supplementation for Fracture, Fall Prevention

TUESDAY, Dec. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against vitamin D supplementation, with or without calcium, for preventing fractures and falls in older adults. These recommendations form the basis of a draft recommendation statement published online Dec. 17.

Researchers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, Maryland, reviewed the evidence on supplementation with vitamin D, calcium, or both to prevent fractures and falls in community-dwelling adults. Twenty unique randomized controlled trials were included; eight were conducted exclusively among postmenopausal women and the rest included men (aged 50 years or older) and postmenopausal women. The researchers found that the pooled risk ratio for vitamin D supplementation, with or without calcium, was 0.99 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.86 to 1.13) compared with control, corresponding to an absolute risk difference of zero fewer hip fractures per 1,000 supplemented. For incidence of one or more falls, the pooled relative risk for vitamin D supplementation, with or without calcium, was 0.99 versus control (95 percent confidence interval, 0.97 to 1.01), corresponding to an absolute risk difference of five fewer participants with one or more falls per 1,000 supplemented.

Based on these findings, the USPSTF recommends 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).

The draft recommendation statement and evidence review have been posted for public comment. Comments can be submitted from Dec. 17, 2024, through Jan. 21, 2025.

Draft Evidence Review

Draft Recommendation Statement

Comment on Recommendation Statement