Effect of vitamin D on bone strength in older African Americans: a randomized controlled trial

There is controversy over whether African Americans have higher vitamin D requirements than recommended by the Institute of Medicine. We previously reported that maintaining serum 25(OH)D above 30 ng/mL does not prevent age-related bone loss. Herein, we report that bone strength is also unaffected by maintaining this level in this population.

The role of vitamin D in bone strength has not been investigated in the African American (AA) population.

A 3-year randomized controlled trial was designed to examine the effect of vitamin D supplementation on physical performance, bone loss, and bone strength in healthy older AA women. A total of 260 postmenopausal AA women, ages ≥ 60 years were randomized to a vitamin D₃ or placebo arm. Vitamin D₃ dose was adjusted to maintain serum 25OHD > 30 ng/mL. Bone mineral density, femoral axis length, and femoral neck (FN) width were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Composite indices of FN strength [compression strength index (CSI), bending strength index (BSI), and impact strength index (ISI)] were computed.

The mean age of participants was 68.2 ± 4.9 years. Baseline characteristics between groups were similar. The average dose of vitamin D₃ was 3490 ± 1465 IU/day in the active group. The mean serum 25OHD was 46.8 ± 1.2 ng/mL versus 20.7 ± 1.1 ng/mL in the active versus placebo group. Serum 25OHD did not correlate with any composite indices. The longitudinal differences observed in FN width, CSI, BSI, and ISI in both groups were not statistically significant (all p values > 0.05). Further, there was no group × time interaction effect for any of the composite indices (all p values > 0.05).

Maintaining serum 25OHD > 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) does not affect bone strength in older AA women. There is no evidence to support vitamin D intake greater than the recommended RDA by the Institute of Medicine in this population for bone strength.