Effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in healthy adults.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

To assess the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on persistent S. aureus nasal carriage the researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial among 322 healthy adults.

Why It Was Studied

Observational studies have reported an inverse association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations and Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage; however, clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation are lacking.

Nasal swabs for S. aureus culture and serum for 25OHD measurement were obtained at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months of study.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 322 adults were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the adults nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group a baseline to be compared against.

What Was Measured

Nasal swabs for S. aureus culture and serum for 25OHD measurement were obtained at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months of study.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Carrier State, Cholecalciferol, Dietary Supplements, Healthy Volunteers, Nose, Sex Factors and Staphylococcus aureus.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Randomized controlled trial, Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage, risk factors of nasal carriage, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D and vitamin D3 supplementation.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 322 adults.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The publication is from 2014 (Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases), a journal based in England.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.