Medical Experts Sound Alarm After 89-Year-Old Dies From Vitamin D Overdose

Medical experts are sounding the alarm after an octogenarian died from an overdose of vitamin D, BBC reported.

89-year-old David Mitchener died in May 2023 at a hospital in Surrey, England after taking high doses of vitamin D for nine months prior to his demise. His cause of death was officially listed as “vitamin D toxicity” with “hypercalcemia, and cardiac and kidney failure” named as contributing factors. A coroner’s inquest into his passing ruled that it was a “death by misadventure.”

According to The New York Post, the coroner’s report found that Mitchener’s body contained “the maximum level [of vitamin D] recordable by the laboratory.”

Jonathan Stevens, the coroner who performed Mitchener’s autopsy, is now warning that high doses of vitamin supplements might be more dangerous than most people realize. He called supplements “potentially very serious risks and side effects when taken in excess.”

Stevens also blasted manufacturers and distributors for not labeling supplement bottles with potential overdose warnings. “There were no warnings on or in the packaging detailing the specific risks or side effects of taking Vitamin D supplements,” he wrote in the inquest. “In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken.”

Both England’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said they would look into the coroner’s findings. 

“We will consider the coroner’s findings in full and respond in due course,” a DHSC spokesperson told BBC. “Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of David Mitchener.”

An FSA spokesperson told the outlet that “food supplements in England [are] not directly within the remit of the FSA.”

The Mayo Clinic recommends a daily maximum of 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D for people over 70 years. A maximum of 400 IU is recommended for toddlers up to 12 months; and 600 IU for those aged one to 70 years.

The clinic also notes that “taking too much vitamin D in the form of supplements can be harmful.” They say taking more than 4,000 IU of vitamin D each day can result in symptoms like nausea and vomiting; heart rhythm problems; and kidney damage. Taking more than 60,000 IU daily for several months at a time can result in an overdose.