Among 573 hip fracture patients interviewed about their vitamin D intake for 2 years following hip fracture surgery, less than half (47.5%) reported that they took vitamin D consistently as recommended.
Also per the interviews, 35.6% of the patients reported that they took supplements inconsistently, and less than 19% took no supplements.
The participants’ mean patient age was 74.1, and the majority of them (66.3%) were women.
The study was presented during the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting.
“Vitamin D supplementation following hip fracture surgery is grossly under-prescribed,” says co-study author Mohit Bhandari, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon and research chair in musculoskeletal trauma and surgical outcomes, at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, in a media release from the AAOS. “Given its potential to improve patient function independent of other therapies, it seems improved advocacy and education—aimed at doctors and patients—about vitamin D supplementation is both worthwhile and evidence-based.”
Co-study author Earl Bogoch, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Toronto, adds, “The benefits, safety and ease of taking vitamin D appear to be unknown or ignored by this representative cohort group of elderly osteoporotic patients who are identified by numerous guidelines as being most likely to benefit.”
According to an AAOS position statement, it is recommended that physicians proactively screen, monitor, and, if necessary, assist in getting treatment for elderly and other at-risk patients for osteoporosis following an initial bone fracture to prevent subsequent fractures, per the release.
[Source(s): American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, PR Newswire]
