@article{ref1,
title="Vitamin D Treatment for the Prevention of Falls in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis",
journal="Journal of the American Geriatrics Society",
year="2010",
author="Kalyani, Rita Rastogi and Stein, Brady and Valiyil, Ritu and Manno, Rebecca and Maynard, Janet W. and Crews, Deidra C.",
volume="58",
number="7",
pages="1299-1310",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: To systematically review and quantitatively synthesize the effect of vitamin D therapy on fall prevention in older adults. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. SETTING: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, LILACS, bibliographies of selected articles, and previous systematic reviews through February 2009 were searched for eligible studies. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults (aged >/=60) who participated in randomized controlled trials that both investigated the effectiveness of vitamin D therapy in the prevention of falls and used an explicit fall definition. MEASUREMENTS: Two authors independently extracted data, including study characteristics, quality assessment, and outcomes. The I(2) statistic was used to assess heterogeneity in a random-effects model. RESULTS: Of 1,679 potentially relevant articles, 10 met inclusion criteria. In pooled analysis, vitamin D therapy (200-1,000 IU) resulted in 14% (relative risk (RR)=0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.79-0.93; I(2)=7%) fewer falls than calcium or placebo (number needed to treat =15). The following subgroups had significantly fewer falls: community-dwelling (aged <80), adjunctive calcium supplementation, no history of fractures or falls, duration longer than 6 months, cholecalciferol, and dose of 800 IU or greater. Meta-regression demonstrated no linear association between vitamin D dose or duration and treatment effect. Post hoc analysis including seven additional studies (17 total) without explicit fall definitions yielded smaller benefit (RR=0.92, 95% CI=0.87-0.98) and more heterogeneity (I(2)=36%) but found significant intergroup differences favoring adjunctive calcium over none (P=.001). CONCLUSION: Vitamin D treatment effectively reduces the risk of falls in older adults. Future studies should investigate whether particular populations or treatment regimens may have greater benefit.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0002-8614",
doi="10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02949.x",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02949.x"
}