ReviewThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2023
The Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Musculoskeletal Health: The VITAL and DO-Health Trials.
Review in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Updated Meta-analysis Reveals Limited Efficacy of Vitamin D Supplementation in Chronic Low Back Pain.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Pooled it
- Effects of vitamin D3, omega-3s, and a simple home exercise program on incident vertebral fractures: the DO-HEALTH randomized controlled trial.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2025Trial
- Effect of vitamin D, omega-3 supplementation, or a home exercise program on muscle mass and sarcopenia: DO-HEALTH trial.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025Trial
- Women's musculoskeletal health: insights from the 2024 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on chronic conditions.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2026Review
- Bone aging: a paradigm of multiscale degeneration and targeted rejuvenation.Bone research · 2026Review
- From the Vitamin D Paradox to Precision Nutrition: Targeted Supplementation, Assay Pitfalls, and Clinical Decision-Making.Current nutrition reports · 2026Review
- 25-Hydroxyvitamin DScientific reports · 2026Article
- Nutrition's role in extending healthspan: CRN-international symposium report.European journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Quality of Life in relation to Vitamin-D levels in asymptomatic young health care professionals in a tertiary care hospital: Quality of Life and Vitamin-D (QoLD) study.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Retrospective Development and Internal Validation of a Diagnostic Model to Identify Secondary Osteoporosis in Community-Dwelling Older Men.Orthopedic research and reviews · 2026Article
- Vitamin D and Postoperative Recovery in Elderly Ribeirinhos-Riverside Amazon Communities with Femur Fractures.Clinics and practice · 2025Article
- Functional Foods in Modern Nutrition Science: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Public Health Implications.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Review
- A Causal Effect of Serum 25(OH)D Level on Appendicular Muscle Mass: Evidence From NHANES Data and Mendelian Randomization Analyses.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Article
- Interactions between vitamin D deficiency and inflammation on diabetes risk: data from 336,500 UK Biobank adults.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2025Article
- Comparative proteomic exploration of plasma proteins in different levels of vitamin D with type 2 diabetes mellitus using iTRAQ-coupled LC-MS/MS.Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders · 2024Article
- Review
- Comparative Study of Healthy Older and Younger Adults Shows They Have the Same Skin Concentration of Vitamin DNutrients · 2024Article
- Phytonutrients in the promotion of healthspan: a new perspective.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Review
- Nutritional Interventions in Older, Frail Persons with Heart Failure-A Systematic Narrative Review.JAR life · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Previous clinical trials and systematic reviews on the effects of supplemental vitamin D on musculoskeletal outcomes are conflicting. In this paper, we review the literature and summarize the effects of a high daily dose of 2 000 IU vitamin D on musculoskeletal outcomes in generally healthy adults, in men (≥50 years) and women (≥55 years) in the 5.3-year US VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) trial (n = 25 871) and women and men (≥70 years) in the 3-year European DO-HEALTH trial (n = 2 157). These studies found no benefit of 2 000 IU/d of supplemental vitamin D on nonvertebral fractures, falls, functional decline, or frailty. In VITAL, supplementation with 2 000 IU/d of vitamin D did not reduce the risk of total or hip fractures. In a subcohort of VITAL, supplemental vitamin D did not improve bone density or structure (n = 771) or physical performance measures (n = 1 054). In DO-HEALTH, which investigated additive benefits of vitamin D with omega-3 and a simple home exercise program, the 3 treatments combined showed a significant 39% decreased odds of becoming prefrail compared to the control. The mean baseline 25(OH)D levels were 30.7 ± 10 ng/mL in VITAL and 22.4 ± 8.0 ng/mL in DO-HEALTH and increased to 41.2 ng/mL and 37.6 ng/mL in the vitamin D treatment groups, respectively. In generally healthy and vitamin D-replete older adults not preselected for vitamin D deficiency or low bone mass or osteoporosis, 2 000 IU/d of vitamin D had no musculoskeletal health benefits. These findings may not apply to individuals with very low 25(OH)D levels, gastrointestinal disorders causing malabsorption, or those with osteoporosis.
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.