VITAL Findings — A Decisive Verdict on Vitamin D Supplementation

An estimated one third or more of U.S. adults 60 years of age or older take vitamin D supplements, not including those who take multivitamins or other compounds containing vitamin D.1 Yet controversy continues about its overall benefits. In this issue of the Journal, LeBoff and colleagues2 report findings from an ancillary study of the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL),3 which extend the results of that trial; taken together, VITAL and this ancillary study show that vitamin supplements do not have important health benefits in the general population of older adults, even in those with low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. . . .