Neither Vitamin D Nor Omega-3 Affect Frailty Among Seniors

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Neither supplementation with vitamin D₃ nor omega-3 affect the rate of frailty change or incidence over time among older adults, according to a study published online Sept. 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Ariela R. Orkaby, M.D., M.P.H., from the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, and colleagues conducted a 2 x 2 factorial randomized trial to examine the effects of vitamin D₃ and omega-3 supplements on frailty among 25,871 individuals (men aged 50 years and older and women aged 55 years and older) without cancer or cardiovascular disease. Sufficient data to calculate a frailty index were available for 25,057 participants.

The mean frailty score was 0.109, and 12.7 percent of participants were frail. The researchers found that neither vitamin D₃ nor omega-3 supplementation affected mean frailty scores over time (mean difference at year 5: vitamin D₃, −0.0002; omega-3, −0.0001) or the rate of change in mean frailty score. Over time, incident frailty remained similar. Using the frailty physical phenotype, results were similar.

"These results do not support the routine use of either vitamin D₃ or omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for prevention of frailty in healthy, community-dwelling older adults," the authors write.

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