About the Trial
It has been known for many years that vitamin D plays an important role in musculoskeletal health. Laboratory and observational studies suggested that it might also be important for other health outcomes, but there was insufficient information to guide policy and practice around supplementation and/or sun exposure.
The D-Health Trial was established to determine the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the health of older Australians. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality.
21,315 Australians aged 60 years and older were recruited and randomised to either vitamin D or matching placebo, taken once per month for 5 years. Health outcomes were measured through annual surveys and linkage to health datasets such as state cancer registers.
The results of the D-Health Trial indicate that vitamin D may play a role in infectious disease outcomes, and may reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, particularly in people with cardiovascular risk factors at baseline. Details are in the published papers.
Contact
A: D-Health Study
QIMR Berghofer
Locked Bag 2000
Royal Brisbane Hospital
Herston QLD 4029
Australia
Published manuscripts from the D-Health trial
Thompson B, Waterhouse M, Neale RE. Vitamin D supplementation and major cardiovascular events: D-Health randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2023
Pham H, Neale RE et al. Vitamin D supplementation and cognition-Results from analyses of the D-Health trial. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023
Neale RE, Waterhouse M et al. D-Health Trial: a randomised controlled trial of the effect of vitamin D on mortality. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2022