There is high quality evidence that vitamin D plus calcium is associated with a statistically significant reduction in incidence of new non-vertebral fractures .
Vitamin D alone is unlikely to prevent fractures in the doses and formulations tested so far in older people .
Supplements of vitamin D and calcium may prevent hip or any type of fracture .
There was a small but significant increase in gastrointestinal symptoms and renal disease associated with vitamin D and calcium .
This review found that there was no increased risk of death from taking calcium and vitamin
BACKGROUND Vitamin D and related compounds have been used to prevent  osteoporotic fractures in older people .
This is the third up date of a Cochrane review first published in 1996 .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of vitamin D or related compounds , with or without calcium , for preventing  fractures in post-menopausal women and older men .
Comparison of methods for defining prevalent vertebral deformities: the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures.
Women with vertebral deformities caused by osteoporosis have more back pain and disability and are at higher risk for subsequent vertebral deformities than women without deformities . Despite the importance of vertebral deformities , there has been a great deal of controversy about how to identify or define them . In order to compare methods for defining vertebral deformities , we studied  spinal radiographs from women in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures ( SOF ) , a cohort study of 9704 non-black women over age 65 recruited from population -based listings in four clinical centers . Using radiographs obtained at the baseline exam , we compared five methods for defining vertebral deformities : one based on a semiquantitative reading by a radiologist and four using vertebral morphometry . The semiquantitative method was compared with the other methods in a r and om sample of 503 films , while the morphometric methods were compared with each other in a larger sample of 9575 films . We tested a system of " triage " in which only those films with evidence of deformity were assessed by morphometry . We compared the relationship between deformity , defined by each method , and a variety of clinical criteria including bone mineral density at the lumbar spine , height loss since age 25 , back pain , and incidence of subsequent deformity . Semiquantitative reading and three of the four morphometry-based methods provided similar relationships to clinical criteria . The fourth morphometry method ( based on ratios of each vertebral height to the corresponding height at T4 ) produced significantly weaker relationships for several of the clinical validation criteria . Triage of radiographs rarely result ed in missed deformities and did not reduce the performance of any of the methods . We conclude that use of any of the similar methods , with or without triage , provides a valid approach to defining vertebral deformities
There is high quality evidence that vitamin D plus calcium is associated with a statistically significant reduction in incidence of new non-vertebral fractures .
Vitamin D alone is unlikely to prevent fractures in the doses and formulations tested so far in older people .
Supplements of vitamin D and calcium may prevent hip or any type of fracture .
There was a small but significant increase in gastrointestinal symptoms and renal disease associated with vitamin D and calcium .
This review found that there was no increased risk of death from taking calcium and vitamin
BACKGROUND Vitamin D and related compounds have been used to prevent  osteoporotic fractures in older people .
This is the third up date of a Cochrane review first published in 1996 .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of vitamin D or related compounds , with or without calcium , for preventing  fractures in post-menopausal women and older men .