Vitamin D Deficiency Increases Risk of Losing Muscle Strength by 78% Say Researchers
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Vitamin D deficiency increases risk of losing muscle strength by 78%:
Vitamin D plays an important role in the regulation of calcium and phosphorus absorption by the organism. It also helps keep the brain and immune system working. Researchers at the Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar) in Brazil and University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom have now shown that vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of dynapenia in older people by 78%.
Dynapenia is an age-associated loss of muscle strength. It can be partially explained by muscle atrophy and is a major risk factor for physical incapacity later in life. People with dynapenia are more likely to fall, need to go to hospital, be prematurely institutionalized, and die.
[...] "Vitamin D is known to participate in various functions of the organism. Actually, it's a hormone and its many roles include helping to repair muscles and releasing calcium for muscle contraction kinetics. It was therefore expected to cause muscle alterations of some kind. That's exactly what our study proved," said Tiago da Silva Alexandre, last author of the article. Alexandre is a professor of gerontology at UFSCar.
Bone and muscle tissue are interconnected not just mechanically and physically but also biochemically. "Endocrine disorders such as vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency can lead to loss of bone mineral density as well as a reduction in muscle mass, strength and function," he said.
[...] Our body only synthesizes vitamin D when large areas of skin are exposed to sunlight, Alexandre recalled. "It's necessary to explain to people that they risk losing muscle strength if they don't get enough vitamin D. They need to expose themselves to the sun, eat food rich in vitamin D or take a supplement, and do resistance training exercises to maintain muscle strength," he said.
Journal Reference:
Delinocente, M.L.B., Luiz, M.M., de Oliveira, D.C. et al. Are Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency Risk Factors for the Incidence of Dynapenia?. Calcif Tissue Int 111, 571-579 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-022-01021-8
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