VITAL
Trial question
What is the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the risk of upper respiratory tract infections in older adults?
Study design
Multi-center
Double blinded
RCT
Population
Characteristics of study participants
51.0% female
49.0% male
N = 15804
15804 patients (8033 female, 7771 male).
Inclusion criteria: generally healthy men, aged ≥ 50 years, and women, aged ≥ 55 years.
Key exclusion criteria: renal failure or dialysis; cirrhosis; history of hypercalcemia; or other serious conditions.
Interventions
N=7905 vitamin D supplementation (at a dose of 2000 IU/day).
N=7899 placebo (matching placebo daily).
Primary outcome
Rate of recent upper respiratory tract infection at 1-year follow-up
10.8%
11.5%
11.5 %
8.6 %
5.8 %
2.9 %
0.0 %
Vitamin D
supplementation
Placebo
No significant
difference ↔
No significant difference in the rate of recent upper respiratory tract infection at 1-year follow-up (10.8% vs. 11.5%; OR 0.96, 96% CI 0.86 to 1.06).
Conclusion
In generally healthy men, aged ≥ 50 years, and women, aged ≥ 55 years, vitamin D supplementation was not superior to placebo with respect to the rate of recent upper respiratory tract infection at 1-year follow-up.
Reference
Carlos A Camargo Jr, Debra A Schaumberg, Georgina Friedenberg et al. Effect of daily vitamin D supplementation on risk of upper respiratory infection in older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2024 May 15;78(5):1162-1169.
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