Calcium and Vitamin D Necessary to Help Prevent Fractures and Falls in Elderly

A statement released by Taylor C. Wallace, Ph.D., senior director, scientific and regulatory affairs, CRN said that the report: “does not change expert recommendations for the benefits of calcium."

13 June 2012 --- In response to a draft report by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force on vitamin D and calcium the Council for Responsible Nutrition released a arguing that they are necessary to prevent fractures and falls in the elderly.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which makes recommendations on a range of prevention issues, said on Tuesday that studies of the supplements suggest they do little to prevent fractures at doses lower than 400 IU of vitamin D and 1,000 milligrams (mg) of calcium daily. But it is clear that they come with a slightly increased risk of certain side effects, including kidney stones.

A statement released by Taylor C. Wallace, Ph.D., senior director, scientific and regulatory affairs, CRN said that the report: “does not change expert recommendations for the benefits of calcium. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) supports a Recommended Dietary Allowance of 600-800 IU vitamin D and 1000-1300 mg calcium daily for adults.  There are long-term Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), systematic reviews and meta-analyses that support that supplementation with calcium and vitamin D is beneficial for bone health, particularly in post-menopausal women and the elderly, when the diet is not sufficient. For those individuals who are not getting recommended amounts from diet alone, supplementation may be necessary to help prevent falls and fractures.

“Even though the USPSTF’s recommendations are based on a large body of evidence, the draft report recognized that in the largest RCT, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, the vitamin D dose used ‘may have been too low to cause an effect.’ There are additional issues in the WHI study: of particular concern is the fact that the control group was actually somewhat sufficient in calcium, thereby making it more difficult for the calcium test group to show benefit in comparison. Previously, the USPSTF found that supplementation with vitamin D was beneficial in preventing incidences of falls among adults ages 65 and older. Since falls commonly result in fractures, it’s common sense for the elderly to consider supplementing with vitamin D and calcium.”

The recommendations are still in draft form and will be available for public comment on the USPSTF's website for about a month before they are finalized.

For higher doses of the supplements, the evidence is still too limited to make recommendations either way, the panel found. The same is true for cancer prevention, it said.