Living evidence page · Drugs & supplements
Vitamin D
In generally healthy adults, vitamin D3 did not significantly reduce invasive cancer, major cardiovascular events, or fractures; deficiency treatment is a different question.
Safety and regulatory context: Vitamin D is essential; treatment of deficiency is a different question from broad prevention in generally healthy adults. This page does not provide personal supplementation advice.
Compare coverage
Three different evidence questions
Counts and order describe what More Years has released. They do not indicate evidence strength, efficacy, safety, importance, popularity or recommendation.
Released reporting
What the covered evidence says
Large randomized trial · Human clinical outcomes · large randomized prevention trial
Vitamin D is essential. VITAL still found no broad prevention benefit
- Population
- 25,871 generally healthy U.S. adults not selected for vitamin D deficiency, low bone mass or osteoporosis
- Measured
- invasive cancer, major cardiovascular events and clinical fractures
In generally healthy adults, vitamin D3 did not significantly reduce invasive cancer, major cardiovascular events, or fractures; deficiency treatment is a different question.
Does not establish: VITAL does not show that vitamin D is useless, that nobody needs supplementation, or that a clinician should stop treating deficiency. It does not compare every dose, formulation, or high-risk subgroup.
Published 2026-08-01 · verified 2026-08-01
Primary publications and governing syntheses
2 covered studies
These records preserve identifiers, populations, outcomes and interpretation boundaries from the released evidence library.
Randomized trial · peer-reviewed
Vital Vitamin D Primary
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1809944
- Population
- 25,871 generally healthy US adults
- Measured
- invasive cancer and major cardiovascular events
- Result in released coverage
- In VITAL's generally healthy population, vitamin D3 did not significantly reduce invasive cancer or major cardiovascular events. · VITAL did not establish that vitamin D supplementation slows biological aging or extends healthspan or lifespan.
- Evidence maturity
- large randomized human cancer, cardiovascular, and fracture outcome evidence
- Funding / conflicts
- Primarily NIH-funded; vitamin D was donated by Pharmavite.
- Limitations
- The trial was not a treatment study for diagnosed vitamin D deficiency. · The absence of direct longevity endpoints is not proof that no effect can exist.
The measured result does not establish a general longevity benefit beyond the population, design and outcomes reported.
Verified 2026-08-01 · correction state: none
Randomized trial · peer-reviewed
Vital Vitamin D Fractures
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2202106
- Population
- VITAL participants not selected for deficiency, low bone mass, or osteoporosis
- Measured
- total, nonvertebral, and hip fractures
- Result in released coverage
- Vitamin D3 did not significantly reduce total, nonvertebral, or hip fractures in the VITAL ancillary trial. · VITAL did not establish that vitamin D supplementation slows biological aging or extends healthspan or lifespan.
- Evidence maturity
- large randomized human cancer, cardiovascular, and fracture outcome evidence
- Funding / conflicts
- Primarily NIH-funded; vitamin D was donated by Pharmavite.
- Limitations
- Participants were not selected for deficiency, low bone mass, or osteoporosis. · The absence of direct longevity endpoints is not proof that no effect can exist.
The measured result does not establish a general longevity benefit beyond the population, design and outcomes reported.
Verified 2026-08-01 · correction state: none
Registry records
2 connected clinical trials
Status and results availability are kept separate from evidence conclusions.
Completed · Peer-reviewed publication linked
omega-3 — NCT01169259
- Population
- Primary-prevention adults, older adults after myocardial infarction and statin-treated high-risk adults with elevated triglycerides
- Intervention / comparator
- formulation-specific randomized trials
- Primary outcome
- cardiovascular composites and components, mortality, atrial fibrillation and bleeding
- Sponsor / funding context
- Funding and conflict context is source-reviewed in the linked article; registry sponsorship alone is not evidence of benefit.
Registry status is operational information, not evidence of benefit.
Status checked 2026-08-01 · registry link checked 2026-08-27
Completed · Peer-reviewed publication linked
vitamin D — NCT01704859
- Population
- 25,871 generally healthy U.S. adults not selected for vitamin D deficiency, low bone mass or osteoporosis
- Intervention / comparator
- large randomized prevention trial
- Primary outcome
- invasive cancer, major cardiovascular events and clinical fractures
- Sponsor / funding context
- Primarily NIH-funded; vitamin D was donated by Pharmavite.
Registry status is operational information, not evidence of benefit.
Status checked 2026-08-01 · registry link checked 2026-08-27
Coverage timeline
When this reporting was released
- Vitamin D is essential. VITAL still found no broad prevention benefitHuman clinical outcomes · large randomized prevention trial