Research paper
Effects of ergocalciferol added to calcium on the risk of falls in elderly high-risk women.
Study answer
What this study found
Adding ergocalciferol to calcium reduced falls in this population. At least 1 fall during 1 year occurred in 53.0% of the ergocalciferol group versus 62.9% of controls, with OR 0.61 and 95% CI 0.37-0.99; the adjusted RR was 0.61. Benefit was clearest for first falls in winter or spring, where 25.2% versus 35.8% fell, OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.32-0.96), RR 0.77 (95% CI 0.56-0.98), while summer or autumn showed no clear effect (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.46-1.42). The intervention also reduced having 1 fall (21.2% vs 33.8%; OR 0.50; 95% CI 0.28-0.88), but not more than 1 fall (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.41-1.06). No…
- Study & population
- Randomized, placebo-controlled trial in ambulatory, community-dwelling women aged 70 to 90 years in Perth, Australia.
- Intervention
- The active regimen was ergocalciferol 1000 IU/day added to calcium citrate 1000 mg/day for 1 year.
- Key limitation
- The trial was limited to elderly women with prior falls and vitamin D insufficiency in Perth, Australia, so generalizability is narrow.
View source
Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Ergocalciferol (vitamin D(2)) supplementation plays a role in fall prevention, but the effect in patients living in the community in sunny climates remains uncertain. We evaluated the effect of ergocalciferol and calcium citrate supplement…