No value for routine vitamin D supplementation

Enthusiasm for recommending vitamin D supplementation to prevent a wide range of skeletal and extra-skeletal disorders was diminished considerably by three publications in 2018.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated previous guidelines addressing vitamin D supplementation. The Task Force found adequate evidence to recommend against vitamin D supplementation to prevent falls and found insufficient evidence to recommend supplementation to prevent fractures in men and premenopausal women.

For postmenopausal women, they recommend against low-dose supplementation, but evidence was insufficient to determine whether higher doses prevent fractures. The USPSTF emphasised that these recommendations apply only to community-dwelling older adults who are not known to have osteoporosis or vitamin D deficiency.

However, given widespread routine measurement of vitamin D levels by clinicians (a practice for which there is no supportive evidence currently) and over-the-counter availability of supplements, vitamin D use is unlikely to decline.