Surrey pensioner, 89, dies after taking too much vitamin D

An elderly man has died from taking too many vitamin D tablets, a coroner has ruled.

David Mitchener, 89, died at East Surrey Hospital in May last year, after being hospitalised with hypercalcaemia - which is excessively high calcium levels. An inquest into his death by Surrey Assistant Coroner Jonathan Stevens found that his vitamin D levels were the maximum recordable level, the Express reported.

The inquest heard how Mitchener had been taking vitamin D supplements for nine months leading up to his death.

In the post-mortem, his cause of death was ruled as being congestive cardiac failure, acute-on-chronic kidney failure, hypercalcaemia, vitamin D toxicity and ischaemic heart disease. The coroner raised concerns about the lack of warnings on supplement packages, as well as guidance about dosage.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of David Mitchener. We will consider the coroner’s findings in full and respond in due course."

Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, keeping your bones, teeth and muscles healthy. A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone problems, including things like rickets.