Comparison of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) on Fall Reduction in Nursing Home Residents

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Waldrop, M. L. (2015). Comparison of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) on Fall Reduction in Nursing Home Residents. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Vitamin D has been proven to reduce fall rates by 15%-20% for nursing home residents. However, vitamin D is still not considered a standard for fall prevention due to vitamin D type and dosage not having been established in the literature. The purpose of this project is to retrospectively examine the relationship between vitamin D3 50,000 units and vitamin D2 50,000 units and falls occurring in the nursing home setting over a six-month period. Data were collected from April 2014 to September 2014 from two nursing homes in North Carolina. Total of 70 residents met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Fall rates were 4 of 35 (11%) for vitamin D3 and 7 of 35 (20%) for vitamin D2. This slight difference was not statistically significant (x2=0.43, p=0.511, df=1). The fall rate vitamin D level of <30 was 2 of 12 (17%) and 2 of 14 (14%) for >31. This slight difference was not statistically significant (p=1.00). There were no fractures or emergency department visits related to falls over this six-month period. Even though the project did not finding statistically significant differences between vitamin D3 and vitamin D2 and fall rates, the rate of falls decreased significantly after vitamin D was initiated for these two nursing homes. Vitamin D supplementation should be incorporated into practice for patients in the nursing home, especially for those residents with high risks for falling. Initiating patients on a vitamin D regimen can lead to a decrease in healthcare costs related to fall morbidity and mortality.

Details
Author

Waldrop, My Linh

Title

Comparison of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) on Fall Reduction in Nursing Home Residents

Physical Description

1 online resource (28 pages) : PDF

Date

2015

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Vitamin D has been proven to reduce fall rates by 15%-20% for nursing home residents. However, vitamin D is still not considered a standard for fall prevention due to vitamin D type and dosage not having been established in the literature. The purpose of this project is to retrospectively examine the relationship between vitamin D3 50,000 units and vitamin D2 50,000 units and falls occurring in the nursing home setting over a six-month period. Data were collected from April 2014 to September 2014 from two nursing homes in North Carolina. Total of 70 residents met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Fall rates were 4 of 35 (11%) for vitamin D3 and 7 of 35 (20%) for vitamin D2. This slight difference was not statistically significant (x2=0.43, p=0.511, df=1). The fall rate vitamin D level of <30 was 2 of 12 (17%) and 2 of 14 (14%) for >31. This slight difference was not statistically significant (p=1.00). There were no fractures or emergency department visits related to falls over this six-month period. Even though the project did not finding statistically significant differences between vitamin D3 and vitamin D2 and fall rates, the rate of falls decreased significantly after vitamin D was initiated for these two nursing homes. Vitamin D supplementation should be incorporated into practice for patients in the nursing home, especially for those residents with high risks for falling. Initiating patients on a vitamin D regimen can lead to a decrease in healthcare costs related to fall morbidity and mortality.

Genre

doctoral dissertations

Subjects--Topics

Medical sciences

Degree

Ph.D.

Keywords

Fall
Nursing Homes
Vitamin D2
Vitamin D3

Subject Area

Health Services Research

Advisor(s)

Troutman-Jordan, Meredith

Committee Members

Davis, Boyd
Scism, Elizabeth
Brown, Maureen

Degree Note

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2015.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Waldrop_uncc_0694D_10746

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:734