Friday May 23, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- A review published in the April, 2014 issue of Cochrane Database Systematic Review suggests taking vitamin D plus calcium but not vitamin D alone likely helps prevent hip fracture in post-menopausal women and older men.  

A. Avenell at University of Aberdeen in Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK and colleagues conducted the review of 53 trials with nearly 100,000 participants involved and found evidently taking vitamin D plus calcium supplements  reduced the risk of hip fracture.

High quality trials show vitamin D alone in the formats and doses tested is likely ineffective in preventing hip fracture or any new fracture, according to the review, while a 16% reduction in the risk of hip fracture was achieved among those who used vitamin D plus calcium supplements.

Specifically, among low risk individuals, the supplementation of vitamin D plus calcium prevented one hip fracture per 1000 older adults each year.  In comparison, among high risk men and women, nine hip fractures per 1000 older adults per year were prevented.

The vitamin D plus calcium supplements also significantly reduced the incidence of new non-vertebral fractures in older men and women.

Vitamin D plus calcium supplements also lowered the risk of any type of fracture.

The review also found supplementation of vitamin D alone or vitamin D plus calcium did not affect the risk of death or mortality while the supplementation may result in usually mild hypercalcaemia, high serum levels of calcium.  Hypercalcaemia was more likely to occur in those who took calcitriol, which is an active form of vitamin D.

Less likely side effects associated particularly with calcium plus vitamin D supplements included increased gastrointestinal symptoms and risk of renal disease.  

Other reviews have shown that supplemental calcium may increase risk of myocardial infarction and stroke, but decrease incidence of cancer particularly in the case of vitamin D plus calcium supplementation.

The authors concluded "Vitamin D alone is unlikely to prevent fractures in the doses and formulations tested so far in older people. Supplements of vitamin D and calcium may prevent hip or any type of fracture."

"There was a small but significant increase in gastrointestinal symptoms and renal disease associated with vitamin D and calcium. This review found that there was no increased risk of death from taking calcium and vitamin D." (David Liu, PHD)