Half as many fractures for girls with high vitamin D intake – March 2012

Vitamin D, Calcium, and Dairy Intakes and Stress Fractures Among Female Adolescents

Kendrin R. Sonneville, ScD, RD; Catherine M. Gordon, MD, MSc; Mininder S. Kocher, MD, MPH; Laura M. Pierce, BA; Arun Ramappa, MD; Alison E. Field, ScD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. Published online March 5, 2012. , doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2012.5

Objective To identify whether calcium, vitamin D, and/or dairy intakes are prospectively associated with stress fracture risk among female adolescents.

Design Prospective cohort study.

Setting Adolescent girls living throughout the United States.

Participants A total of 6712 girls aged 9 to 15 years at baseline in the Growing Up Today Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study.

Main Exposures Dairy, calcium, and vitamin D intakes assessed by food frequency questionnaire every 12 to 24 months between 1996 and 2001.

Main Outcome Measure Incident stress fracture that occurred between 1997 and 2004 as reported by mothers of the participants in 2004. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine associations.

Results During 7 years of follow-up, 3.9% of the girls developed a stress fracture.
Dairy and calcium intakes were unrelated to risk of developing a stress fracture.
However, vitamin D intake was inversely related to stress fracture risk.
The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio of stress fracture for the highest vs the lowest quintile of vitamin D intake was 0.49 (95% CI, 0.24-1.01; Ptrend = .07).

We conducted a stratified analysis to estimate the association between vitamin D intake and stress fracture risk among girls participating in at least 1 h/d of high-impact activity, among whom 90.0% of the stress fractures occurred, and found that higher vitamin D intake predicted significantly lower risk of stress fracture (Ptrend = .04).

Conclusions Vitamin D intake is associated with lower stress fracture risk among adolescent girls who engage in high levels of high-impact activity.

Neither calcium intake nor dairy intake was prospectively associated with stress fracture risk.

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From the PDF - which we cannot post on-line

• Vitamin D supplementation: 540 IU, 825 IU, 1100 IU, 1400 IU, 1900 IU
  Thus those getting 1900 IU had half the fractures of those getting 540 IU
• Apparently did not include vitamin D from the sun

See also Vitamin D Life

• Forearm fractures in children having low Vitamin D had 1.7X higher risk of surgery – March 2018
• Perhaps Stress fractures 2X less frequent if 4000 IU of vitamin D – June 2011
• All items in Category Bone 269 items
• Most people with bone fractures still not getting vitamin D – May 2011
• Shin splints decrease with vitamin D
• Overview: Bone fractures and vitamin D
• Vitamin D and Fracture Prevention – June 2010
• Fewer micro-cracks and broken bones
• Vitamin D reduces stress fractures – review Oct 2010
• Injury-Prevention with Vitamin D – Feb 2010
• Ballet dancers in the winter had more injuries and only 15 ng of vitamin D – Feb 2013