Citation

Lyons RA, Johansen A, Brophy S, Newcombe RG, Phillips CJ, Lervy B, Evans R, Wareham K, Stone MD. Osteoporos. Int. 2007; 18(6): 811-818.

Affiliation

School of Medicine, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, SA2 8PP, Swansea, UK. r.a.lyons@swansea.ac.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00198-006-0309-5

PMID

17473911

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Osteoporotic fractures in older people are a major and increasing public health problem. We examined the effect of vitamin D supplementation on fracture rate in people living in sheltered accommodation. METHODS: In a pragmatic double blind randomised controlled trial of 3 years duration, we examined 3,440 people (2,624 women and 816 men) living in residential or care home. We used four-monthly oral supplementation using 100,000 IU vitamin D(2) (ergocalciferol). As a main outcome measure, we used the incidence of first fracture using an intention to treat analysis. This was a multicentre study in 314 care homes or sheltered accommodation complexes in South Wales, UK. RESULTS: The vitamin D and placebo groups had similar baseline characteristics. In intention-to-treat analysis, 205 first fractures occurred in the intervention group during a total of 2,846 person years of follow-up (7 fractures per 100 people per year of follow-up), with 218 first fractures in the control group over 2,860 person years of follow-up. The hazard ratio of 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.79-1.15) for intervention compared to control was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Supplementation with four-monthly 100,000 IU of oral vitamin D(2) is not sufficient to affect fracture incidence among older people living in institutional care.

Language: en