[The role of vitamin D in the treatment of osteoporosis in the elderly].

During the last 5 years several randomized, prospective, placebo-controlled clinical trials have documented that a supplementation with vitamin D (400-1,200 IU per day) together with calcium (800-1,500 mg per day) may reduce the risk of falls and fall-related fractures in the elderly. This is especially the case in elderly women >or= 65 years of age with a serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin-D(3) level < 50 nmol/l. Based on the results of a recently published meta-analysis involving more than 10,000 participants, the grade of evidence according to the Oxford Centre of Evidence-based Medicine is Ia with respect to the primary prevention of falls in the elderly population.