The FREEDOM Study: a RCT of sunlight and calcium to reduce vitamin D deficiency in older people in residential care

这项拟议的研究源于一项正在进行的关于老年人跌倒和骨折的大型流行病学研究（FREE研究）。跌倒和骨折是老年人的主要问题。这就是FREEDOM（跌倒风险流行病学：维生素D对骨骼结果和其他措施的影响）干预研究的起源。FREEDOM研究将在一项随机试验中评估公共卫生策略的效果，以减少居住在寄宿护理中的老年人跌倒和骨折（即适当的阳光照射和补钙）。这项研究的主要终点将是减少跌倒和维生素D水平的变化。其他终点包括运动功能、情绪、骨转换和骨折发生率的变化。拟研究的拟议公共卫生策略很容易转化为日常工作，可行性强，易于实施，而且一般适用于将进行研究的院舍环境。此外，拟议的方法成本低，不依赖于卫生系统的其他投入。可能有大量的人会从更好地了解确保改善维生素D状态的简单方法中受益。

The proposed study emanates from a large ongoing epidemiological study on falls and fractures in the elderly (the FREE study). Falls and fractures are major problems in the elderly. This is the genesis for the FREEDOM (Falls Risk Epidemiology: Effect of vitamin D on skeletal Outcomes and other Measures) intervention study. The FREEDOM study will evaluate the effect of a public health strategy to reduce falls and fractures in older people living in residential care (namely appropriate sun light exposure and calcium supplementation) in a randomised trial. The primary endpoints of this study will be reduction in falls and change in vitamin D levels. Other endpoints will be change in motor function, mood, bone turnover and fracture incidence. The proposed public health strategy to be examined is readily transferable to routine practice and would have very good feasibility for easy implementation and are generally applicable to the residential care setting, where the study will be conducted. Moreover the proposed approach would be low in cost and does not depend on other health system input. Potentially large numbers of people would benefit from the better understanding of simple methods of securing improved vitamin D status.