No evidence of health benefits from vitamin D supplements

The wide-spread consumption of vitamin D supplements to help prevent heart attacks, strokes, cancer and bone fractures is probably a waste of time, New Zealand researchers said Tuesday.

The study found a lack of evidence for any substantial health benefits from taking vitamin D and that the results of "multi- million-dollar trials underway are unlikely to alter this view."

The study, led by Dr Mark Bolland, of the University of Auckland, looked at existing evidence from 40 randomized controlled trials and concluded that vitamin D supplements did not prevent heart attack, stroke, cancer or bone fractures in the general population by more than 15 percent.

"Vitamin D supplements, that are taken by nearly half of all adults in the United States, probably provide little, if any, health benefit," Bolland said in a statement.

Previous observational studies showed that vitamin D deficiency was strongly associated with poor health and early death, but the evidence now indicated that this was a consequence, not a cause of ill health.

For hip fracture, the results of some trials even suggested increased risk with vitamin D supplements.