It follows previous research, carried out in Australia, linking a deficiency in the vitamin with greater likelihood of falls and injuries in elderly women.
In the new study, a nine-month period of supplementation with vitamin D appeared to cut the risk of falling among older people in half, reports the team in this month's issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The researchers from the Geriatric University Clinic in Basel followed 378 community-dwelling elderly people for 36 weeks. Half of the study participants received the vitamin D form alfacalcidol and the other half received a placebo.
Those participants taking vitamin D and also with an intake of more than 512 milligrams of calcium per day were 55 per cent less likely to fall than people who were not given alfacalcidol.
"Provided a minimal calcium intake of more than 512 mg/d, alfacalcidol treatment significantly and safely reduces number of fallers in an elderly community dwelling population," write the scientists.
The supplement group also saw a 38 per cent drop in levels of calcium-regulating parathyroid hormone, which can raise the risk of fracture at high levels.
Vitamin D has featured increasingly in the news in recent months as doctors become more aware of deficiency of the vitamin, particularly in northern hemisphere populations. Although it can be obtained through the diet, the best source is sunlight but many people do not get enough exposure to the sun during winter months.
Lack of the vitamin can increase the risk of broken bones, particularly in the elderly, as it plays a vital role in absorption of dietary calcium and maintaining strong bones.
A trial on a group of more than 2,500 over 65s reported in the BMJ last year found that supplementation with vitamin D during a five-year period reduced the incidence of fracture by 22 per cent and fractures in major osteoporotic sites dropped by 33 per cent.