Abstract
BackgroundDietary sources of calcium and vitamin D are recommended as a first-line strategy in prevention of osteoporosis-related fractures but their public health and economic impact has never been studied.MethodsWe designed a population-based model to forecast the potential health outcomes and medical effectiveness of the daily administration of dairy supplements containing 800 IU of vitamin D and 1 g of calcium in cohorts of subjects, from both genders, aged 50, 60, 70 and 80 years. Annual costs of dairy products were tested at €150, €250 and €350.ResultsIn total, the daily intake of vitamin-D rich dairy products reduces by 30,376 and 16,105 events the number of osteoporotic fractures in women and men respectively and permits to gain 6605 and 6144 life-years, in women and men respectively. This intervention is cost-effective from 70 years on in the general population and from 60 years on in patients at increased risk of osteoporotic fractures.ConclusionThe recommendation to use dairy products as the preferred source of calcium and vitamin D in aging males and females is supported by public health and health economic analyses.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13690-015-0099-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Dietary sources of calcium and vitamin D are recommended as a first-line strategy in prevention of osteoporosis-related fractures but their public health and economic impact has never been studied
There is a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in the elderly and dietary calcium is low in many postmenopausal OP women [7,8,9,10], notwithstanding most data suggest that dietary intakes of key bone nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D and proteins contribute to bone health and reduce the risk of Fx later in life [2, 11]
Few studies targeted the cost-effectiveness of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in OP [13, 14] and even less [15] assessed the public health and economic impact of fortified dairy products given to the general elderly population
Summary
Dietary sources of calcium and vitamin D are recommended as a first-line strategy in prevention of osteoporosis-related fractures but their public health and economic impact has never been studied. In 2012, the number of deaths causally related to OP Fx in the European union, was estimated at 43,000 [4], of which 50 % were due to hip Fx, 28 % to clinical vertebral and 22 % to other Fx [2] This high societal and personal burden poses challenges to public health and physicians [2]. Few studies targeted the cost-effectiveness of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in OP [13, 14] and even less [15] assessed the public health and economic impact of fortified dairy products given to the general elderly population
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