Elderly people who take vitamin D tablets daily with their regular meals are half as likely to fall and get hurt compared to those who don’t. Experts believe that the tablets strengthen the bones and muscles and fortify the immune system, making the elderly less frail.
The study conducted by researchers at the Wake Forest Medical Centre in North Carolina, the US, had 68 elderly citizens been given vitamin D tablets or a placebo (dummy pill) with their meals-on-wheels. The study project was continued for five months and researchers kept diaries of each patient to keep track of how often they fell over.
The participants also underwent blood tests at the start and end of the study to measure the levels of vitamin D in their bodies. After five months, the vitamin D levels in 33 out of 34 patients taking genuine supplements were either normal or very good. Also, they have suffered an average of half as many falls as the other 34 residents taking the placebo pills
The findings of this study are published in the Journal of the Geriatrics Society.
