title: Vitamin D in older patients with cancer
abstract: Vitamin D insufficiency has been found to be as high as 75% among community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of published literature focused on the benefits of vitamin D and calcium supplementation in older patients with cancer. Insufficient vitamin D levels may have considerable effects on cancer-related diagnosis and treatment. Patient education should include information concerning vitamin D and calcium administration to reduce falls and injury from falls and enhance functional status. This article will consider the issue of vitamin D levels related to cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, functional status, and falls in older patients with cancer. Dosing and serum measurement information will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. jovercas@hsc.usf.edu
authors.forename: Janine A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0717-5263
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Overcash
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D014807:Vitamin D