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What is the Optimal Dietary Intake of Vitamin D for Reducing Fracture Risk?

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Abstract

Vitamin D has long been known to be important for bone health, but there is currently no consensus on the amount of vitamin D needed or how it varies with age, race/ethnicity, body size, absorption efficiency, season, and other factors. This review describes the effects of vitamin D on calcium absorption, parathyroid hormone levels, and changes in bone mineral density briefly and focuses in more detail on the results and interpretation of double-blind randomized controlled trials with fracture outcomes in older adults. Based on these trials, 400 IU/day, bringing 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels to 60–65 nmol/L, is not effective at lowering fracture risk in community-dwelling elders or in elders with prior fractures. Several large trials indicate that doses in the range of 700–1,000 IU/day can lower fracture risk by ~20 %. From these trials, it appears that a 25OHD level of 65 nmol/L is needed to reduce nonvertebral fracture risk and 75 nmol/L may be needed to lower hip fracture risk. Trials testing additional doses of vitamin D in different segments of the population are needed.

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Acknowledgement

This material is based on work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, under agreement 58-1950-7-707. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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  1. Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington St., Boston, MA, 02111, USA

    Bess Dawson-Hughes

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  1. Bess Dawson-Hughes
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Correspondence to Bess Dawson-Hughes.

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Dawson-Hughes, B. What is the Optimal Dietary Intake of Vitamin D for Reducing Fracture Risk?. Calcif Tissue Int 92, 184–190 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-012-9606-5

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