Dec. 14--SINGAPORE -- Do not chuck those vitamin D tablets in the bin just yet.
This message came from doctors at the International Osteoporosis Foundation's first Asia-Pacific meeting in Singapore at the weekend.
A recent report advised osteoporosis sufferers that they could do away with these supplements.
But those above 70 years old still need 800 International Units (IU) of vitaminD every day, said Dr Chionh Siok Bee, vice-president of the Osteoporosis Society of Singapore.
The rest need 400 IU daily, according to the Health Ministry's guidelines.
Last week, it was reported in The Straits Times that a review by American and Canadian experts found high levels of vitamin D -- often recommended by doctors -- are not needed and may even be harmful.
Not only does this jar with ministry guidelines, it also contradicts global recommendations by the International Osteoporosis Foundation recently revised in May.
In these new guidelines, the daily intake of vitamin D for those over 70 years old was set at 800 to 1,000 IU. This was up from previous guidelines of 400 to 600 IU daily.
People who are obese, osteoporotic or housebound -- which limits sun exposure crucial for the body to produce the vitamin -- are also advised to take high levels of up to 2,000 IU daily.
The discrepancy caught some elderly people like Madam Lum Lui Wah off-guard. The 79-year-old osteoporosis patient takes at least 800 IU of vitamin D supplements every day. After her daughter alerted her to last week's report, she was confused about whether to continue with the regimen, she said.
Speakers at the public forum on Friday set the record straight -- vitamin D remains vital in preventing hip fractures and falls, especially in the elderly.
One of them, Dr Michael McClung, director of the Oregon Osteoporosis Centre in the United States, said there has been "a lot of confusion, especially recently, over how much vitamin D is important".
But he maintains that the vitamin is central to bone health. "Bone loss in older men and women is driven mainly by vitamin D deficiency," he said.
In Singapore, deficiency is exacerbated by the fact that food and beverage items -- even some milk products -- sold here are not sufficiently fortified with vitaminD, said Dr Chionh.
"Most of the calcium supplements and multivitamins found here only have 200 units of vitamin D. If you're not in the sun and take only one tablet a day, it's not going to be enough," said the National University Hospital endocrinologist.
POON CHIAN HUI
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