Research paper
Effects of active vitamin D analogues on muscle strength and falls in elderly people: an updated meta-analysis
Study answer
What this study found
Active vitamin D analogues may reduce falls in elderly adults and appear to improve quadriceps strength, with the clearest signal for alfacalcidol and eldecalcitol. They did not produce consistent benefit for global muscle strength, hand grip strength, or back extensor strength, and calcium supplementation did not appear to enhance effects. No clear differences were seen among calcitriol, alfacalcidol, and eldecalcitol. Overall, the evidence suggests a possible benefit, but confirmation is needed in larger, better-designed trials and safety remains uncertain.
- Study & population
- Updated meta-analysis of randomized trials in elderly adults, predominantly women, across various settings.
- Intervention
- Active vitamin D analogues were evaluated as once-daily regimens in the included randomized trials.
- Key limitation
- The evidence base was limited and depended on randomized trials with relatively small active arms, ranging from N=8 to N=193, and several outcomes were inconsistently reported.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Background Elderly people are at high risk of falls due to decreased muscle strength. So far, there is currently no officially approved medication for treating muscle strength loss. The active vitamin D analogues are promising but inconsistent result…