Skip Navigation
Menu
Letters |17 December 2013

Vitamin D and Calcium Supplementation to Prevent Fractures in Adults

Toshihiro Sugiyama, MD, PhD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • From Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan.

    Potential Conflicts of Interest: None disclosed.

×
FULL TEXT
TO THE EDITOR:
The guideline from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) (1) concludes that the current evidence about calcium and vitamin D supplementation to prevent fractures in adults is essentially insufficient. This statement may be partly based on the limited efficacy of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in preventing fractures from skeletal adaptation to mechanical loading, although vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and supports bone mineralization that is essential for skeletal stiffness.
Bone responds to the local mechanical environment at each skeletal site, as evidenced by marked bone gain in the dominant arms of professional tennis players or rapid bone loss in the weight-bearing sites of astronauts during space flight; it has been considered that the skeleton adapts to mechanical stimulation through control of bone strength by resulting elastic deformation (strain) of bone. This feedback control system related to mechanical strain is known as the Harold Frost mechanostat.
FULL TEXT
PDF
Not Available
Citations
Citation

Sugiyama T. Vitamin D and Calcium Supplementation to Prevent Fractures in Adults. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159:856. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-159-12-201312170-00014

Download citation file:

© 2019

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 2013;159(12):856.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-159-12-201312170-00014

8 Citations
CONTINUE WITH LIMITED ACCESS
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×