International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research (IJVNR) is published by IMR Press from Volume 95 Issue 1 (2025). Previous articles were published by another publisher under a hybrid publishing model, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Hogrefe.
Vitamin D Effects on Bone and Muscle
1 Centre on Aging and Mobility, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, and Dept. of Rheumatology and Institute of Physical Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
2 Memory Clinic, Geriatric University Clinic, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
3 University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Abstract
Increasing data suggest that higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] serum concentrations are advantageous for health. At present, strong evidence for causality is available for fracture and fall prevention, while promising epidemiologic and mechanistic studies suggest a key role of vitamin D in the preservation of cardiovascular health, and the prevention of cancer and other common chronic disease. For lower extremity function, fall prevention, hip bone density, and for fracture prevention optimal benefits are observed with 25(OH)D levels of at least 75 nmol/L to 100 nmol/L [1]. This threshold may be reached in 50 % of adults with 800 to 1000 IU vitamin D per day. This manuscript will discuss the evidence of vitamin D in fall and fracture prevention and how these data transfer to the most recent recommendations by the IOF (International Osteoporosis Foundation) and the IOM (Institute of Medicine).
Keywords
- Vitamin D
- fractures
- falls
- prevention
- chronic diseases
- bone density
- threshold
- optimal benfit