Vitamin D3 supplementation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ViDiCO): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, published as a randomized controlled trial.

A prespecified subgroup analysis was done to assess whether effects of the intervention on the coprimary outcomes were modified by baseline vitamin D status.

Why It Was Studied

UK National Institute for Health Research.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

The researchers did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D3 supplementation in adults with COPD in 60 general practices and four Acute National Health Service Trust clinics in London, UK.

Participants and study staff were masked to treatment assignment.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and multicenter.

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

As a double-blind Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

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

Running at several centres spread the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study over different clinics and patient groups.

Coprimary outcomes were time to first moderate or severe exacerbation and first upper respiratory infection.

Analysis was by intention to treat.

This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00977873.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Cholecalciferol, Dietary Supplements, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Respiratory Tract Infections, Vitamin D, Vitamin D Deficiency and Vitamins.

What This Means in Plain Language

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

Its findings take up roughly 6 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2015 (The Lancet. Respiratory medicine), a journal based in England.

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