The US Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) issued its final recommendation on vitamin D and calcium supplements for the prevention of fractures, of which there are several individual recommendations for people who do not live in assisted living or nursing homes.
The US Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) issued its final recommendation on vitamin D and calcium supplements for the prevention of fractures, of which there are several individual recommendations for people who do not live in assisted-living or nursing homes.
· The Task Force recommends against daily supplements of less than 400 IU of vitamin D3 and less than 1,000 mg of calcium for the prevention of fractures in postmenopausal women.
· The Task Force found that the current evidence is insufficient to make a recommendation on daily supplements greater than 400 IU of vitamin D3 and greater than 1,000 mg of calcium for the prevention of fractures in postmenopausal women.
· The Task Force found that the current evidence is also insufficient to make a recommendation on vitamin D and calcium supplements for the prevention of fractures for men and premenopausal women.
“It’s important to remember that this recommendation applies to people who do not have a known vitamin D deficiency or osteoporosis,” said Task Force member Jessica Herzstein, MD, MPH. “Vitamin D plays a role in a wide range of general health functions, and there appears to be minimal harms in taking vitamin D supplements. Clinicians and patients may take this into consideration when determining whether to recommend or take vitamin D for general health.”
“There is concern about too much calcium for kidney stones and possible heart disease,” Cliff Rosen, MD, past president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, told Formulary. “Overtreating with vitamin D in healthy individuals is very common. Most people don’t need vitamin D supplementation. The high-risk individual should be screened for osteoporosis, and then treated judiciously; 1,000 mg calcium total is enough and in high-risk individuals, 600 to 800 IU vitamin D.”
Task Force member and chair Virginia Moyer, MD, MPH, said: “Vitamin D and calcium are known to play an important role in maintaining health, including bone health. However, despite the large number of studies done there are few conclusive answers about the ability of vitamin D and calcium supplements to prevent fractures. The Task Force has determined the evidence is inconclusive that higher doses of vitamin D and calcium supplements are effective in preventing fractures in postmenopausal women. The evidence was also inconclusive for fracture prevention in men and premenopausal women. What we do know is that doses less than or equal to 400 IU of vitamin D [or 1,000 mg of calcium] are not effective at preventing fractures in postmenopausal women.”
The Task Force’s recommendation has been published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine, as well as on the Task Force website at: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org. A fact sheet that explains the draft recommendation statement in plain language is also available online.
Because the Task Force recognizes that vitamin D has benefits beyond the prevention of fractures, it has begun evaluating the effectiveness of screening for vitamin D deficiency. The draft research plan for this topic was posted for public comment today and is available at http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/tfcomment.htm.
Coalition promotes important acetaminophen dosing reminders
November 18th 2014It may come as a surprise that each year Americans catch approximately 1 billion colds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 20% get the flu. This cold and flu season, 7 in 10 patients will reach for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to treat their coughs, stuffy noses, and sniffles. It’s an important time of the year to remind patients to double check their medicine labels so they don’t double up on medicines containing acetaminophen.
Support consumer access to specialty medications through value-based insurance design
June 30th 2014The driving force behind consumer cost-sharing provisions for specialty medications is the acquisition cost and not clinical value. This appears to be true for almost all public and private health plans, says a new report from researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Management of antipsychotic medication polypharmacy
June 13th 2013Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
Medical innovation improves outcomes
June 12th 2013I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.