ArticleArchives of osteoporosis2019
Cost-benefit analysis of calcium and vitamin D supplements.
Article in Archives of osteoporosis, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation to prevent fractures and falls: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Pooled it
- Return on investment of fracture liaison services: a systematic review and analysis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Daily Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation as a Foundational Pillar in Osteoporosis Management: A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Vitamin D and Older Adults: To Supplement or Not to Supplement?Drugs & aging · 2026Review
- Rethinking Vitamin D Deficiency: Controversies and Practical Guidance for Clinical Management.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Micronutrient status in nursing home residents: associations with dietary supplementation and health characteristics in the cross-sectional multicentre Nutricare study.Age and ageing · 2025Article
- Micronutrient inadequacy in Europe: the overlooked role of food supplements in health resilience.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Cost-effectiveness of oil and milk fortification by scale for reducing Vitamin A and Vitamin D deficiency in India.PloS one · 2025Article
- Vitamin D, Menopausal Health and COVID-19: Critical Appraisal of Current Data.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- The Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation for Bone Healing in Fracture Patients: A Systematic Review.Advances in orthopedics · 2023Review
- Two-country comparison of the prescription of bone protection medication before and early after hip fracture.Archives of osteoporosis · 2022Article
- Risk Factors, Manifestation, and Awareness of Osteoporosis among Patients of Various Specialists in Switzerland: Results of a National Survey.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Economic evaluation of a national vitamin D supplementation program among Iranian adolescents for the prevention of adulthood type 2 diabetes mellitus.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2022Article
- Pharmacogenomic Effects of β-Blocker Use on Femoral Neck Bone Mineral Density.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2021Article
- miRNA Mechanisms Underlying the Association of Beta Blocker Use and Bone Mineral Density.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2021Article
- Vitamin D and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD): An Update.Nutrients · 2020Review
- Research progress on applications of calcium derived from marine organisms.Scientific reports · 2020Review
- Vitamin D testing: advantages and limits of the current assays.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2020Review
- Patient-Specific Bone Multiscale Modelling, Fracture Simulation and Risk Analysis-A Survey.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
If all adults with osteoporosis in the European Union (EU) and United States (US) used calcium and vitamin D supplements, it could prevent more than 500,000 fractures/year in the EU and more than 300,000/year in the US and save approximately €5.7 billion and US $3.3 billion annually. PURPOSE: Evaluate the cost-effectiveness of calcium/vitamin D supplementation for preventing osteoporotic fractures.
methodsA cost-benefit analysis tool was used to estimate the net cost savings from reduced fracture-related hospital expenses if adults with osteoporosis in the EU and US used calcium/vitamin D supplements. A 14% relative risk reduction of fracture with calcium/vitamin D supplementation from a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials was used as the basis for the benefit estimate. Other model inputs were informed by epidemiologic, clinical, and cost data (2016-2017) obtained via the medical literature or public databases. Analyses estimated the total number of avoided fractures and associated cost savings with supplement use. Net cost benefit was calculated by subtracting the supplements' market costs from those savings.
resultsThe > 30 million persons in the EU and nearly 11 million in US with osteoporosis experience about 3.9 million and 2.3 million fractures/year and have annual hospital costs exceeding €50 billion and $28 billion. If all persons with osteoporosis used calcium and vitamin D supplements, there would be an estimated 544,687 fewer fractures/year in the EU and 323,566 fewer in the US, saving over €6.9 billion and $3.9 billion; the net cost benefit would be €5,710,277,330 and $3,312,236,252, respectively.
conclusionsCalcium and vitamin D supplements are highly cost-effective, and expanded use could considerably reduce fractures and related costs. Although these analyses included individuals aged ≥ 50 years, the observed effects are likely driven by benefits observed in those aged ≥ 65 years.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.