There is currently no firm evidence that vitamin D supplementation decreases or increases cancer occurrence in predominantly elderly community-dwelling women .
Vitamin D₃ supplementation  decreased cancer mortality  and vitamin D supplementation  decreased all-cause mortality , but these estimates are at risk of type I errors due to the fact that too few participants were examined , and to risks of attrition bias originating from substantial dropout of participants .
Combined vitamin D₃ and calcium supplements  increased nephrolithiasis , whereas it remains unclear from the included trials whether vitamin D₃ , calcium , or both were responsible for this effect .
BACKGROUND The evidence on whether vitamin D supplementation is effective in decreasing cancers is contradictory .
OBJECTIVES To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of vitamin D supplementation for prevention of cancer in adults .
The skeletal benefits of calcium- and vitamin D3-fortified milk are sustained in older men after withdrawal of supplementation: an 18-mo follow-up study.
BACKGROUND In a previous 2-y r and omized controlled trial , we showed that calcium- and vitamin D3-fortified milk stopped or slowed bone loss at several clinical ly relevant skeletal sites in older men . OBJECTIVE The present study aim ed to determine whether the skeletal benefits of the fortified milk were sustained after withdrawal of the supplementation . DESIGN One hundred nine men > 50 y old who had completed a 2-y fortified milk trial were followed for an additional 18 mo , during which no fortified milk was provided . Bone mineral density ( BMD ) of the total hip , femoral neck , lumbar spine , and forearm was measured by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry . RESULTS Comparison of the mean changes from baseline between the groups ( adjusted for baseline age , BMD , total calcium intake , and change in weight ) showed that the net beneficial effects of fortified milk on femoral neck and ultradistal radius BMD at the end of the intervention ( 1.8 % and 1.5 % , respectively ; P < 0.01 for both ) were sustained at 18-mo follow-up ( P < 0.05 for both ) . The nonsignificant between-group differences at the total hip ( 0.8 % ; P = 0.17 ) also persisted at follow-up ( 0.7 % ; P = 0.10 ) , but there were no lasting benefits at the lumbar spine . The average total dietary calcium intake in the milk supplementation group at follow-up approximated recommended amounts for Australian men > 50 y old ( 1000 mg/d ) but did not differ significantly from that in the control subjects ( 1021 versus 890 mg/d ) . CONCLUSION Supplementation with calcium- and vitamin D3-fortified milk for 2 y may provide some sustained benefits for BMD  in older men after withdrawal of supplementation
There is currently no firm evidence that vitamin D supplementation decreases or increases cancer occurrence in predominantly elderly community-dwelling women .
Vitamin D₃ supplementation  decreased cancer mortality  and vitamin D supplementation  decreased all-cause mortality , but these estimates are at risk of type I errors due to the fact that too few participants were examined , and to risks of attrition bias originating from substantial dropout of participants .
Combined vitamin D₃ and calcium supplements  increased nephrolithiasis , whereas it remains unclear from the included trials whether vitamin D₃ , calcium , or both were responsible for this effect .
BACKGROUND The evidence on whether vitamin D supplementation is effective in decreasing cancers is contradictory .
OBJECTIVES To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of vitamin D supplementation for prevention of cancer in adults .