Tier 1 — highest

Effects of Supplemental Vitamin D on Bone Health Outcomes in Women and Men in the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL)

Meryl S LeBoff, Sharon H Chou, Elle M Murata, Catherine M Donlon, Nancy R Cook, Samia Mora, I-Min Lee, Gregory Kotler, Vadim Bubes, Julie E Buring, JoAnn E Manson
Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2020 35(5):883-893

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 31923341
PubMed Central
PMC7217747
DOI
10.1002/jbmr.3958
Trial registry
View on ClinicalTrials.gov Registered trial — results not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Funding
Support is recorded from NCCIH NIH HHS, NCI NIH HHS, NCRR NIH HHS, NIAMS NIH HHS, NINDS NIH HHS, NIDDK NIH HHS, NHLBI NIH HHS, CDC HHS, NCATS NIH HHS. See the original publication for grant and material-support details.
Competing interests
The source discloses financial, employment, advisory or material-support relationships involving Pharmavite. See the publication for the authors and nature of each relationship.

Study snapshot

DesignBone-density substudy of the randomized VITAL trial
ModelHuman participants
Sample771 participants in the bone-health subcohort
InterventionVitamin D3 2,000 IU/day or placebo
Duration2 years
EndpointsBone density at spine, hip and whole body; Peripheral bone structure

What the study showed, in plain terms

This publication examines bone density at spine, hip and whole body, peripheral bone structure. Study population or evidence base: 771 participants in the bone-health subcohort. Intervention or exposure: Vitamin D3 2,000 IU/day or placebo.

Key findings

Vitamin D did not significantly improve overall bone density or structure. A low-free-vitamin-D subgroup had small favorable findings that need further study.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Participants were not selected for deficiency or osteoporosis. Exploratory subgroup results should be separated from the neutral overall findings.

Related papers in the corpus

Tier 1
Vitamin D Supplements and Prevention of Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease
JoAnn E Manson et al. · The New England journal of medicine · 2019
Tier 1
Supplemental Vitamin D and Incident Fractures in Midlife and Older Adults
Meryl S LeBoff et al. · The New England journal of medicine · 2022
Tier 1
Vitamin D and marine omega 3 fatty acid supplementation and incident autoimmune disease: VITAL randomized controlled trial
Jill Hahn et al. · BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022
Tier 1
Vitamin D and Marine n-3 Fatty Acids for Autoimmune Disease Prevention: Outcomes Two Years After Completion of a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Karen H Costenbader et al. · Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2024
Tier 1
Effect of Long-term Vitamin D3 Supplementation vs Placebo on Risk of Depression or Clinically Relevant Depressive Symptoms and on Change in Mood Scores: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Olivia I Okereke et al. · JAMA · 2020
Tier 1
Vitamin D supplementation vs. placebo and incident type 2 diabetes in an ancillary study of the randomized Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial
Deirdre K Tobias et al. · Nature communications · 2025

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Biohack Blueprint Research