A placebo is a fake pill given to patients to make them think they are receiving the real treatment.
“This is the largest and longest randomized controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in the US. black participants,” said study author Dr. Meryl LeBoff, chief of the calcium and bone section in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“Overall, the results of this large clinical trial do not support the use of vitamin D supplementation to reduce fractures in generally healthy American men and women,” said LeBoff, also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
“The validity of the study is excellent. It is in line with previous data showing that a population not selected for vitamin D deficiency does not benefit from vitamin D supplementation,” said Dr. Anne Rentoumis Cappola, professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
“Randomized clinical trial data is the highest level of data and has repeatedly failed to show benefit of any vitamin when administered to an unselected study population,” said Cappola, who was not involved in the study.
does not apply to all
However, the study results would not apply to people with severe vitamin D deficiency, LeBoff said. It also does not apply to people with low bone mass, which is less than optimal bone mineral density, or osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones and causes bones to become so brittle that a fall or even mild stress could cause a fracture.
“This is a major public health concern in the US. One in two women age 50 and older will develop an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime,” LeBoff said. “It is really important that patients with osteoporosis are evaluated for the many underlying factors that contribute to osteoporosis to see if there are reversible causes.”
The study results also do not apply to the elderly in nursing homes, LeBoff said, due to the unique factors that apply to their living environments.
“Maybe not go outside to get exposure to sunlight on their skin, which is a major source of vitamin D activation,” she said. “They may not have good nutrition, they may have other medical conditions or gastrointestinal issues, so they need to talk with your doctor about the care of your patients.
Need for vitamin D
The body needs vitamin D. The vitamin’s main job is to help the body absorb calcium from the intestines; in fact, the body cannot absorb calcium unless vitamin D is present. The vitamin also plays a role in immune health, brain cell activity, and muscle function.
Unlike water-soluble vitamins, which can be easily eliminated by the body, vitamin D and its cousins A, E and K accumulate in the liver and fat cells of the body until needed. Consumption well above the RDA can build up to toxic levels.
If vitamin D supplements are being considered, daily levels of vitamin D obtained from food should be factored into the decision, experts caution. In addition to fortified foods, eggs, cheese, shiitake mushrooms, salmon, swordfish, tuna, rainbow trout, and beef liver contain vitamin D, as does cod liver oil.
Anyone concerned about their vitamin D levels should have them checked by a doctor, experts say.
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