New Review Questions Benefits of Calcium and Vitamin D for Stronger Bones

Calcium and vitamin D supplements have long been recommended to help older adults prevent fractures and falls. However, one of the largest reviews ever conducted suggests these supplements may offer little to no meaningful protection for most seniors.

A new review published in The BMJ analyzed data from 69 randomized clinical trials involving more than 153,900 adults and found that calcium supplements, vitamin D supplements, or taking both together provided little to no clinically important reduction in the risk of fractures or falls.

Falls affect nearly one in three adults aged 65 years and older each year, often leading to fractures, disability, reduced independence, and lower quality of life. Because of this, calcium and vitamin D supplements have been widely recommended for decades to support bone health and reduce fracture risk.

To evaluate whether those recommendations are supported by current evidence, researchers reviewed 69 randomized controlled trials that compared calcium supplements, vitamin D supplements, or combined supplementation with placebo or no treatment.

After analyzing the data, they found little to no clinically meaningful reduction in overall fracture risk with calcium alone, vitamin D alone, or the combination of both. The supplements also showed little to no benefit in preventing hip fractures or reducing the risk of falls.

Importantly, the findings remained consistent across different groups of participants, including after accounting for age, sex, previous fractures, previous falls, and dietary calcium intake.

Based on the available evidence, the authors conclude that routine calcium and vitamin D supplementation is not supported as a strategy to prevent fractures or falls in most older adults.

Meanwhile, they also recommend directing greater attention toward interventions with stronger evidence, such as balance training, resistance exercise, home hazard reduction, and personalized fall prevention programs, which have consistently been shown to lower fall risk.

REFERENCE: Olivier Massé, Claudia Mei Mercurio, Sébastien Dupuis, Maya Al Sahwi, Alexandra Arruda, Gabriel Dallaire, Katherine Desforges, Nicolas Dugré, David Williamson. Calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation to prevent fractures and falls: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 2026; 393: e088050 DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2025-088050