Randomized trial of alendronate plus vitamin D3 versus standard care in osteoporotic postmenopausal women with vitamin D insufficiency.
Ralston SH, Binkley N, Boonen S et al.
Calcium and vitamin D supplementation are routinely prescribed as co-treatment with bisphosphonates in patients with osteoporosis. However, adherence to these treatments is poor despite evidence that vitamin D co-supplementation can enhance the therapeutic response. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH vitamin D) levels correlate inversely with parathyroid hormone and bone turnover markers, but positively with bone mineral density (BMD). This study was carried out to investigate whether co-prescription of vitamin D in a combined tablet would provide benefits over standard therapy.