Older Americans may benefit from a nutritional health supplement that includes vitamin D, researchers say, because it could lessen the risk of bone fractures.

Following more than 42,000 patients over age 65 for a year, researchers tracked the number of non-spinal bone fractures and found benefits for those who took pills containing 482 to 770 IU of vitamin D.

The patients who took the supplements reduced the chance of bone fracture by 20 percent, with hip fracture reduced by 18 percent, a benefit that remained even if they were not also taking calcium supplements.

The deficiency affects Americans across a wide range of ages, however, as a study released by the Center for Disease Control found that the average American had a vitamin D deficiency, with only a quarter of the population achieving ideal levels of the nutrient.

Study authors hypothesize that using nutritional health supplements during the winter months, along with “judicious” exposure to the sun when the weather improves, could increase vitamin intake to optimal levels.