Vitamin D may reduce falls in elderly

BOSTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Seniors in a nursing home taking a high daily dose of vitamin D experienced 72 percent fewer falls compared to those taking a placebo, says a U.S. study.

Approximately 50 percent of nursing-home residents fall every year, and those who are injured become even more prone to future falls, according to study authors Kerry Broe and Douglas Kiel of the Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research at Harvard University.

"Past studies have shown that vitamin D could help prevent falls in seniors, and may be due to a possible strengthening effect the vitamin has on the musculoskeletal system," say Broe and Kiel. "Until now, we didn't know what dosage amount would be effective."

The dose that was most effective, 800 International Units per day, is higher than the dose typically prescribed to seniors. Taking this dose of vitamin D should be done only through the approval of a patient's doctor and certain conditions, such as high blood calcium levels, need to be considered by a physician, the study authors stressed.

Taking vitamin D only may not result in fall reductions and all preventative measures need to be considered, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.