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Vitamin D prevents falls, helps improve strength
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Vitamin D is the sunlight vitamin
It’s one of the most frightening and devastating things that can happen to elderly people: they fall and break a hip, leg, or other bones, and suddenly their lives change dramatically. Recent studies show that a vitamin D deficiency can have a negative impact on muscle strength and balance, and thus contribute to falls. Supplementation with vitamin D can help correct it.
Vitamin D deficiency
Although vitamin D deficiency is common in the United States and can affect people of all ages, older people are the most vulnerable. An estimated 25 to 50 percent of men and women age 60 and older have insufficient levels of vitamin D.
One major reason for this fact is that older people often do not spend a sufficient amount of time in sunlight. This is unfortunate, because the amount of “sunshine time” (without sunblock) necessary for the body to produce vitamin D is only about 10 to 15 minutes three to four times per week. Once the body is seriously deficient, however, supplementation is typically needed to bring vitamin D levels back to a healthy level.
Vitamin D and falls
A study conducted at Wake Forest University of Medicine in Winston-Salem showed that vitamin D has a critical role in muscle strength in the elderly. Specifically, a deficiency of vitamin D weakens the muscles in the lower legs, which makes it easier for people to lose their balance and to fall.
In the Wake Forest study, experts studied 976 older adults who had low blood levels of vitamin D. These individuals had a 5 to 10 percent decrease in grip strength and physical performance, including the ability to rise from a seated position and to keep their balance. These factors are good indicators of potential disability in the future.
In another study, a 2007 controlled trial that included 124 residents of a nursing home found that those who took 800 IU of vitamin D daily had a 72 percent lower rate of falling than residents who took a placebo.
Vitamin D and Arizona study
Astudy conducted by investigators from the Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson; the Arizona Cancer Center, Scottsdale; the College of Medicine, Tucson; and the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, found that despite the chronic sunlight in southern Arizona, many people have a vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency. Of 637 participants, 22.3 percent had serum concentrations less than 30 ng/mL (the cutoff point for insufficiency), 25.4 percent were at less than 20 ng/mL (cutoff for deficiency), and 2.0 percent had concentrations less than 10 ng/mL (severe deficiency). Thus 49.7 percent of participants did not have adequate levels of vitamin D.
Taking vitamin D
How much vitamin D do older adults need? The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine has established the Adequate Intake (AI) as 400 IU for people ages 50 to 60 and 600 IU for those age 70 and older. The Linus Pauling Institute recommends at least 800 IU per day for people older than 50.
Before you take vitamin D supplements, you should consult with a knowledgeable health-care provider. If he or she suspects you have a vitamin D deficiency, you can have a simple blood test to check your level.
Other articles of interest
“New study of vitamin D and fish oil: how you can participate”
“Vitamin D may reduce risk of flu and colds”
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