June 8, 2011
People taking bone density drugs, known as biphosphonates, are more likely to benefit from them if their vitamin D levels are higher than recommended.
More than 20,000,000 people take bone density drugs to preserve and improve skeletal health caused by low bone mineral density, known as BMD, or osteoporosis.
Researchers from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York studied 160 patients with either osteoporosis or low BMD.
They found patients with vitamin D levels at 33 nanograms per milliliter were seven times more likely to favorably respond to bone density drugs then those with normal vitamin D levels.
Last November, the Institute of Medicine issued recommendations that vitamin D levels of 20-to-30 nanograms per milliliter were adequate for normal healthy people.