• Robert Preidt
• Posted December 11, 2020

High-Dose Vitamin D Won't Prevent Seniors' Falls: Study

High doses of vitamin D may increase seniors' risk of falls, rather than reduce it, according to a new study.

Preliminary studies suggested vitamin D may increase muscle strength and improve balance, so Johns Hopkins researchers investigated whether high doses of vitamin D might reduce the risk of falls in people aged 70 and older.

But the investigators found that large doses of vitamin D supplements were no better at preventing falls in this age group than a low dose.

"There's no benefit of higher doses but several signals of potential harm," study author Dr. Lawrence Appel said in a Hopkins news release.

"A lot of people think if a little bit is helpful, a lot will be better. But for some vitamins, high-dose supplements pose more risks than benefits. There's a real possibility that higher doses of vitamin D increase the risk and severity of falls," said Appel, a professor of medicine with joint appointments in epidemiology, international health and nursing.

Taking 1,000 or more international units per day (IU/day), equivalent to 25 micrograms/day of vitamin D, was no better than 200 IU/day at preventing falls, according to the study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging.

The results were published Dec. 8 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

The researchers also found that vitamin D supplement doses of 2,000 and 4,000 IU/day seemed to increase the risk and severity of falls compared with 1,000 IU/day, a relatively common dose for a pure vitamin D supplement.

Another finding was that serious falls and falls that required hospitalization occurred more often in older people who took 1,000 or more IU/day than in those who took 200 IU/day (about half the typical dose found in multivitamins).

Older folks should talk with their doctors about their fall risk and vitamin D levels in order to determine whether or not to continue taking vitamin D supplements, Appel recommended.

More information

The Harvard School of Public Health has more on vitamin D and health.

SOURCE: Johns Hopkins Medicine, news release, Dec. 8, 2020