VITAMIN-D TREATMENT AND BONE-MINERAL DENSITY IN THE AGED

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether long-term vitamin D treatment increased bone mineral density in the aged, The bone mine ral density in the distal forearm and femoral neck did not differ betw een nine residents (mean age 81.0 years) of an old peoples' home who h ad received an annual injection of 150 000 IU ergocalciferol during th e foregoing 2-7 years (mean 5.1 years) and nine age-, weight- and heig ht-matched control subjects who had subnormal 25 hydroxyvitamin D leve l. The alkaline phosphatase and parathyroid hormone levels were clearl y higher when the 25 hydroxyvitamin D level was below 10 nmol/l. The a uthors suggest that the ability of vitamin D treatment to diminish fra cture incidence may derive from improved bone quality, not measurable by the standard dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and/or improved nerv ous and muscular control of movements to counter the tendency to fall.