A study of Japanese dialysis patients demonstrated that a combination of oral vitamin D and a phosphorus binder is associated with lower mortality. The study included 466 patients at 17 hospitals. Patients were followed for up to five years. Researchers divided patients into one of four groups. One group received both oral vitamin D and a phosphorus binder; another group received neither medication; a third group received oral vitamin D only; and the fourth group received a phosphorus binder only.
 
The patients who did not take either drug had a 3.5 times increased risk of death. Patients who took a phosphorus binder but not vitamin D had a twofold increased mortality risk. Patients who took vitamin D but not a phosphate binder had a 38 percent increased mortality risk. The findings indicate the use of vitamin D and phosphorus binders together is a predictor of survival in dialysis patients.   

This article originally appeared in the January 2010 issue of AAKP Diet Tips & Bits.