Elderly nursing home residents (average 89 years old) taking part in a study were given 800 IUs of vitamin D daily for five months. They were found to take less falls than those who were given lower doses, no vitamin D or a sugar pill placebo. Most participants in the study were white women who had experienced a fall within the previous year.

For the duration of the five-month study, 61 participants, or 59%, suffered falls. The group taking the daily doses of vitamin D daily was the only group to exhibit a reduced fall risk. They were found to be 72% less likely to fall than those taking the placebo. Researchers took other factors in to account including BMI (body mass index and age.

It is recognized that there are many reasons why people fall. Although vitamin D is known to strengthen bones it is not proven to strengthen muscle. The researchers therefore concluded that it's not certain if vitamin D was the only reason for the decrease in falls for residents taking a specific dose of 800 IU of vitamin D on a daily basis.

SOURCES: "Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D." News release, Blackwell Publishing; Broe, K. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, February 2007; Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health.