Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. 111 patients, hospitalized with hip fractures, had 56.4% lower vitamin K blood levels and 38.3 % lower Vitamin D blood levels compared to the control group.
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 258,000 hospitalizations in the United States for hip fractures among people aged 65 and older, with 289,000 hip fractures expected by the year 2030 (1). In 2000, the total direct cost of all fall injuries for people 65 and older was more than $19 billion and is expected to increase to $54.9 billion by 2020 (2).
When looking at possible preventive measures against falls, one nutritional option has been 1,000 IU per day of vitamin D (3). Now a new study (4) suggests that having enough levels of vitamin K along with enough vitamin D may provide an even greater layer of protection against falls.
In the study, 111 patients between the ages of 73 and 92 hospitalized with hip fractures from a fall were compared to 73 age-matched healthy controls with no hip fractures. Average blood levels of vitamin K were 56.4% lower in the hip fracture patients (0.24 vs 0.55 nanograms/milliliter, p < 0.001). Vitamin D levels in the hip fracture patients were 38.3% lower (50 vs 81 nanomoles/Liter, p < 0.001) compared to the control group.
When looking vitamin D and K levels together, the researchers noted an even more startling relationship: those with vitamin K levels below the average levels in the control group (0.55 ng/mL) who also had vitamin D levels below the average levels in the control group (81 nmol/L) had three times higher risk of hip fracture than those with vitamin K levels below the average control group patient but vitamin D above the average control group levels (p < 0.001), indicating a possible synergistic effect of vitamin D and vitamin K on bone health.
When suggesting how vitamin D and vitamin K may work together to optimize bone health, they cited research (5) showing a possible effect on osteocalcin, a specific marker of bone formation that “depends on vitamin K and probably on vitamin D.”
For the researchers, “Low serum levels of vitamin K1 and vitamin D are independently associated with an increased risk of hip fracture” and that “Vitamin K1 and vitamin D may be important in preventing development of osteoporosis and in treatment of hip fracture patients to reduce the risk of subsequent fracture.” They conclude that “Good randomized controlled trials of supplementation with physiological doses of vitamin K1 and vitamin D compared with traditional bisphosphonate treatment should be carried out.”
Source: Torbergsen, Anne C., et al. “Vitamin K1 and 25 (OH) D are independently and synergistically associated with a risk for hip fracture in an elderly population: A case control study.” Clinical Nutrition 34.1 (2015): 101-106.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.
Posted March 16, 2015.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
References:
- “Hip Fractures Among Older Adults” posted on the CDC website
- “Costs of Falls Among Older Adults” posted on the CDC website
- Flicker L. Should older people in residential care receive vitamin d to prevent falls? Results of a randomized trial. J Am Geriatr Soc 2005; 53(11): 1881-8
- Torgergsen AC. Vitamin K1 and 25(OH)D are independently and synergistically associated with a risk for hip fracture in an elderly population: A case control study. Clin Nutr 2015 Feb;34(1):101-6. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2014.01.016. Epub 2014 Jan 29
- Szulc P, Chapuy MC, Meunier PJ, Delmas PD. Serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin is a marker of the risk of hip fracture in elderly women. J Clin Invest 1993;91:1769e74
