Full Length ArticleEffect of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on bone density in youth with osteogenesis imperfecta: A randomized controlled trial

- Sixty children and adolescents with osteogenesis imperfecta received either 400 or 2000 international units of vitamin D
- The increase in mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was significantly higher in the group receiving 2000 international units
- No significant differences in lumbar spine bone mineral density z-score changes were detected between treatment groups

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heritable condition characterized by fragile bones. Our previous studies indicated that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations were positively associated with lumbar spine areal bone mineral density (LS-aBMD) in children and adolescents with OI. Here we assessed whether one year of high-dose vitamin D supplementation results in higher LS-aBMD z-scores in youth with OI. A one-year double-blind randomized controlled trial conducted at a pediatric orthopedic hospital in Montreal, Canada. Sixty patients (age: 6.0 to 18.9 years; 35 female) were randomized in equal numbers to receive either 400 or 2000 international units (IU) of vitamin D, stratified according to baseline bisphosphonate treatment status and pubertal stage. At baseline, the average serum 25OHD concentration was 65.6 nmol/L (SD 20.4) with no difference between treatment groups (p = 0.77); 21% of patients had results < 50 nmol/L. Vitamin D supplementation was associated with higher serum 25OHD concentrations in 90% of participants. The increase in mean 25OHD was significantly higher (p = 0.02) in the group receiving 2000 IU of vitamin D (mean [95% CI] = 30.5 nmol/L [21.3; 39.6]) than in the group receiving 400 IU (15.2 nmol/L [6.4; 24.1]). No significant differences in LS-aBMD z-score changes were detected between treatment groups. Thus, supplementation with vitamin D at 2000 IU increased serum 25OHD concentrations in children with OI more than supplementation with 400 IU. However, in this study where about 80% of participants had baseline serum 25OHD concentrations ≥ 50 nmol/L, this difference had no detectable effect on LS-aBMD z-scores.