Oral vs. injected: which vitamin D boost works best for low levels?

Neha Agarwal; Pallavi Lohani; Shruti Singh

doi:10.1515/jbcpp-2024-0018

Article

Oral vs. injected: which vitamin D boost works best for low levels?

Neha Agarwal , Pallavi Lohani and Shruti Singh

Published/Copyright: August 20, 2024

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From the journal Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology Volume 35 Issue 4-5

Abstract

Objectives

Vitamin D is essential for maintaining bone and mineral balance. This study aims to identify the most effective route for achieving optimal vitamin D levels (≥30 ng/mL) to support bone and mineral health.

Methods

In this open-label randomized trial, 132 participants aged 18–60 with initial serum vitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL were divided into three intervention groups: daily 800 I.U. oral tablet (Group A), weekly 60,000 I.U. oral sachet (Group B), and monthly 300,000 I.U. intramuscular injection (Group C). The study assessed changes in their serum vitamin D levels at six and 12 weeks.

Results

The monthly intramuscular (IM) group consistently had the highest mean vitamin D levels at six weeks 38.38(±9.953) (p<0.002) and 12 weeks 48.15(±7.71) (p<0.001). Vitamin D insufficiency was reduced to 34.8 % at six weeks (p=0.434) and 6.8 % at 12 weeks (p=0.002). Notably, 100 % of the monthly IM group achieved vitamin D sufficiency at 12 weeks.

Conclusions

The monthly IM route demonstrated superior effectiveness compared to tablets and sachets at both the 6-week and 12-week points. A significantly larger number of monthly IM participants achieved vitamin D sufficiency compared to the other groups.

Keywords: daily oral tablet; efficacy; hypovitaminosis D; monthly IM injection; Vitamin D supplementation; weekly oral sachet

Corresponding author: Dr. Shruti Singh, MD (Pharmacology), Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Phulwarisharif, Patna, Bihar 801507, India, E-mail: drshrutis@aiimspatna.org

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the divine and all the staff, residents and senior residents of the Department of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine and Department of Orthopedics who contributed their support for this study. We are also thankful to our participants for consenting to be part of the study.

Research ethics: The local Institutional Review Board provided ethical approval for the study.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: Although there was no funding, the medicines were made available to patients for free.
Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2024-02-09

Accepted: 2024-07-28

Published Online: 2024-08-20

Published in Print: 2024-07-26

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jbcpp-2024-0018

Keywords for this article

daily oral tablet; efficacy; hypovitaminosis D; monthly IM injection; Vitamin D supplementation; weekly oral sachet