Vitamin D supplements 'not needed in healthy adults'

Vitamin D supplements have been found to have no effect on the bone density of healthy adults. A new study, published in the journal 'The Lancet', has found that when healthy adults take vitamin D supplements no improvements are made on bone density and so they do nothing to stop osteoporosis.

Over 4,000 healthy adults were involved in the study, almost half of which were aged 50 or over. The research was conducted by the University of Auckland, which found that the use of vitamin D supplements in a bid to reduce osteoporosis in healthy adults was needless. Researchers suggest that the only individuals that would find the supplements beneficial to their health are those that are deficient in vitamin D, or are likely to be deficient. 

The researchers performed a meta-analysis and review of all randomised clinical trials before July 2012 that had focussed on the ways that vitamin D supplements affect bone mineral density in adults. A total of 23 trials were reviewed, none of which showed that vitamin D supplements had any effect on bone density, apart from a small increase on the bone density at the femoral neck. Although the 0.8 per cent increase in density within this isolated area is statistically significant, researchers believe that it is unlikely to be significant in the clinical sense. 

Professor Ian Reid, from the University of Auckland's Bone Research Group and lead author of the study, said in the Lancet article: "This systematic review provides very little evidence of an overall benefit of vitamin D supplementation on bone density. Continuing widespread use of vitamin D for osteoporosis prevention in community-dwelling adults without specific risk factors for vitamin D deficiency seems inappropriate." 

The study concludes that only those that have low levels of vitamin D, which can be due to age, diet and other factors, could actually benefit from regularly taking the supplements. In children, especially those with dark skin, the supplements can help avoid rickets, which can affect the way that a skeleton grows. This form of treatment could also be beneficial to patients that are confined to their beds, those who are frail and women that wear veils everyday.