Vitamin D supplementation and bone turnover in advanced heart failure: the EVITA trial.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Low vitamin D status is common in patients with heart failure and may influence bone health.

Low vitamin D status is common in patients with heart failure (HF) and has been related to disturbed bone turnover.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 158 patients were involved.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults, men only.

In this pre-specified secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial, the researchers assessed in 158 male HF patients (vitamin D group: n = 80; placebo group: n = 78) between-group differences in calciotropic hormones (25OHD, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], intact parathyroid hormone [iPTH]), and BTMs (cross-linked C-telopeptide of type I collagen, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, undercarboxylated osteocalcin).

Comparisons were performed at the end of a 3-year vitamin D supplementation period with adjustments for baseline values.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized and placebo-controlled.

Because people in this Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

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

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Biomarkers, Bone Density Conservation Agents, Bone Remodeling, Bone Resorption, Cholecalciferol, Dietary Supplements and Heart Failure.

Author keywords: Bone formation, Bone turnover, Parathyroid hormone and Vitamin D.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 158 patients.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2018 (Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA), a journal based in England.

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