X-Message-Number: 29831
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:13:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: 
Subject: vitamin D lowers mortality 7%

Arch Intern Med. 2007 Sep 10;167(16):1730-7.
Vitamin D Supplementation and Total Mortality: A Meta-analysis of Randomized
Controlled Trials.
    Autier P, Gandini S. International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150
cours Albert Thomas, F-69372 Lyon CEDEX 08, France.
    BACKGROUND: Ecological and observational studies suggest that low
vitamin D status could be associated with higher mortality from
life-threatening conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and
diabetes mellitus that account for 60% to 70% of total mortality in
high-income countries. We examined the risk of dying from any cause in
subjects who participated in randomized trials testing the impact of vitamin
D supplementation (ergocalciferol [vitamin D(2)] or cholecalciferol [vitamin
D(3)]) on any health condition. METHODS: The literature up to November 2006
was searched without language restriction using the following databases:
PubMed, ISI Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded), EMBASE, and
the Cochrane Library. RESULTS: We identified 18 independent randomized
controlled trials, including 57 311 participants. A total of 4777 deaths
from any cause occurred during a trial size-adjusted mean of 5.7 years.
Daily doses of vitamin D supplements varied from 300 to 2000 IU. The trial
size-adjusted mean daily vitamin D dose was 528 IU. In 9 trials, there was a
1.4- to 5.2-fold difference in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D between the
intervention and control groups. The summary relative risk for mortality
from any cause was 0.93 (95% confidence interval, 0.87-0.99). There was
neither indication for heterogeneity nor indication for publication biases.
The summary relative risk did not change according to the addition of
calcium supplements in the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Intake of ordinary
doses of vitamin D supplements seems to be associated with decreases in
total mortality rates. The relationship between baseline vitamin D status,
dose of vitamin D supplements, and total mortality rates remains to be
investigated. Population-based, placebo-controlled randomized trials with
total mortality as the main end point should be organized for confirming
these findings.
PMID: 17846391

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