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New Study: Vitamin D May Boost
Physical Function For Seniors
Seniors with higher blood levels of vitamin D are also likely
to have better physical function, reports a new study that
suggests higher recommended levels may be needed to
ensure muscle health.
Physical function was highest in people with the highest blood
levels of vitamin D, the storaged form of the vitamin in the body.
Lower levels were associated with poorer physical function,
scientists from Wake Forest University told attendees at the
Experimental Biology 2010 meeting in Anaheim, CA.
Since we make vitamin D on exposure to sunlight, it is possible
that people with better physical function have higher levels simply
because they were able to get outside more often.
If future trials support the hypothesis that higher vitamin D may
increase physical function in the elderly then increases in
recommended intakes may be needed,
said researchers.
“Current dietary recommendations are based primarily on
vitamin D’s effects onbone health,” the researchers explained.
“It is possible that higher amounts of vitamin D are needed for
the preservation of muscle strength and physical function as
well as other health conditions.
Vitamin D is well known to support muscle function, and the
science supporting the link is sufficiently robust to have merited
a positive opinion from the European Food Safety Authority’s
(EFSA) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA).
The Panel concluded that “a cause and effect relationship has
been established between the dietary intake of vitamin D and
contribution to the normal function of the immune system and
healthy inflammatory response, and maintenance of normal
muscle function”.
For this study, researchers analyzed data from 2,788 people
with an average age of 75. Blood levels of “25(OH) “ (stored
Vitamin D) were measured at the start of the study, two years
later, and then again after four years. These levels were then
related to the physical function of the participants, measured
by a variety of tests including how quickly they could walk 6
meters, how quickly they could rise from a chair five times,
and how well they maintained their balance when asked to
move themselves into a challenging position.
Data showed that people with the highest levels of vitamin D
levels had better physical function. Conversely, of the people
with the lowest physical function, 90 per cent of them had
insufficient or deficient levels of vitamin D, said the researchers.
In addition to the EFSA nod of approval, science continues to
emerge to support the muscle-benefits of the vitamin, including
a recent study from McGill University in Canada found that
insufficient blood levels of vitamin D may be associated with
the accumulation of fat in muscle tissue, leading to lower
muscle strength.
The findings were said to be the first to show a clear link
between vitamin D levels and the accumulation of fat in
muscle tissue, and were published in the Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology and Metabolism (doi:10.1210/jc.2009-2309).
Data was presented as part of the scientific program of the
American Society for Nutrition at the Experimental Biology
2010 meeting in Anaheim.
The researchers were affiliated with Wake Forest University,
the University of Georgia, University of Pittsburgh, University
of California, San Francisco, University of Tennessee, VU
University, Amsterdam, and the National Institute on Aging.
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