The relationship between vitamin D deficiency, muscle weakness and fall risk is frequently reported in the literature. It is clear that hospitalized individuals are suffering from the lack of sunlight. Dietary intake or absorption of vitamin d from the gut decreases with aging. Can we carry out a study that focuses on vitamin D deficiency on hospital injuries related to the elderly?
Hospitalization further compromises vitamin D levels due to various reasons. A study conducted by us in hospitalised children clearly showed that.* There is a possibility that the risk may be similar in the elderly.
*Dayal D, et al. Fall in vitamin D levels during hospitalization in children. International Journal of Pediatrics 2014 (Free pdf on RG)
There is a lot of evidence of the association of low vitamin D levels with a range of adverse health and events in older patients: muscle weakness, falls, fractures, cognitive decline, depression, etc. You will very likely find a relationship between low vitamin D level and injuries. The evidence of a causal relationship is, however, underwhelming in intervention studies. So I would advise to perform an RCT with vitamin D and placebo (or sunlight and placebo!) with injuries (or recovery) as an end point.
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