Recommendations abstracted from the American Geriatrics Society Consensus Statement on vitamin D for Prevention of Falls and Their Consequences

Abstract

The goal of this Consensus Statement is to help primary care practitioners achieve adequate vitamin D intake from all sources in their older patients, with the goal of reducing falls and fall-related injuries. The workgroup graded the quality of evidence and assigned an evidence level using established criteria. Based on the evidence for fall and fracture reduction in the clinical trials of older community-dwelling and institutionalized persons and metaanalyses, the workgroup concluded that a serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration of 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) should be a minimum goal to achieve in older adults, particularly in frail adults, who are at higher risk of falls, injuries, and fractures. The workgroup concluded that the goal--to reduce fall injuries related to low vitamin D status--could be achieved safely and would not require practitioners to measure serum 25(OH)D concentrations in older adults in the absence of underlying conditions that increase the risk of hypercalcemia (e.g., advanced renal disease, certain malignancies, sarcoidosis).