Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and musculoskeletal injuries in professional football players

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and musculoskeletal injury (MI) in elite football players. In total, 54 male professional football players were recruited from an official Italian professional championship team between 2009 and 2013. The cohort was genotyped for the ApaI, BsmI and FokI polymorphisms and MI data were collected over four football seasons. No significant differences were identified among the genotypes in the incidence rates or severity of MI (P= 0.254). In addition, no significant associations were observed between VDR polymorphisms and MI phenotypes (P=0.460). However, the results of the casewise multiple regression analysis indicated that the ApaI genotypes accounted for 18% of injury severity (P=0.002). Therefore, while the BsmI and FokI polymorphisms did not appear to be associated with the severity or incidence of MI, the ApaI genotypes may have influenced the severity of muscle injury in top-level football players. IntroductionThe vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is located on human chromosome 12 (12q12-q14) and is 100 kb in length, with >100 restriction endonuclease cutting site polymorphisms (1). VDR is a member of the steroid superfamily of nuclear receptors, which serve key functions in the regulation of the transcriptional activity of the vitamin D metabolite 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Vitamin D performs an established role in calcium metabolism, increasing the absorption of calcium and phosphate from the intestines and the reabsorption of calcium in the kidneys. Furthermore, vitamin D is hypothesized to be crucial in skeletal muscle function, and VDRs have been identified in this tissue (2,3). In addition, vitamin D has been hypothesized to influence myocytes via VDRs, resulting in myocyte proliferation, differentiation, growth and inflammation (4).The VDR gene contains numerous polymorphisms. A polymorphic start codon in the 5' end of the gene is identified by the restriction enzyme FokI. There are three polymorphisms at the 3' end of the VDR gene, generating the BsmI, ApaI and TaqI restriction sites (5).These functional genetic polymorphisms in the VDR gene may be associated with tissues that respond to vitamin D, including muscle cells and adipocytes. Skeletal muscle is established to be a target organ for vitamin D, and vitamin D metabolites directly affect muscle cell metabolism via a number of pathways (6). Furthermore, previous studies have associated vitamin D deficiency with muscular weakness (6,7).Numerous cohort and cross-sectional studies have investigated the associations between vitamin D status and various parameters of neuromuscular performance. Prior studies have indicated that vitamin D exerts a beneficial effect on these parameters (7-10); however, certain other studies have contradicted these findings (11)(12)(13)(14).Muscle injury is a major problem for football players and has been reported to account for 20-37% of all injury-associated time loss at the male professional leve...

Low back pain and FokI (rs2228570) polymorphism of vitamin D receptor in athletes

“…Similarly, a study in 80 Italian white male gymnasts participating at international competitions found no relationship between the VDR -FokI polymorphism and athletic performance [ 41 ]. In addition, 2 studies by Massidda and colleagues in male Italian soccer players found no correlation of VDR -FokI polymorphism with athletic performance [ 42 ], and no association with incidence or severity of musculoskeletal injury [ 43 ]. A study by Nakamura and colleagues [ 44 ] in 44 Japanese male competitive athletes of various sport disciplines found frequencies of FF of 50.0, and Ff 47.7%; FF carries when compared to Ff carriers had 7.7% greater lumbar spine bone mineral content (BMC) [ 44 ].…”

Five-Year Surveillance of Vitamin D Levels in NCAA Division I Football Players: Risk Factors for Failed Supplementation

“…42 Additional evidence is necessary to determine if vitamin D deficiency in elite football players (including collegiate athletes and National Football League players) affects the injury rate or athletic performance. 7,22,23,29 As mentioned before, Sun et al 35,36 found a correlation between vitamin D insufficiency and abnormal glucose homeostasis and changes in the hepatic lipid content in male collegiate football players. It has been reported that circulating 25(OH)D concentrations are negatively associated with fasting glucose concentration in young adults but also inversely correlated with the concentrations of 1hour glucose, 2-hour glucose after oral glucose tolerance, the increments of the glucose area under the curve, and the increments of the insulin area under the curve.…”

Genetic variations associated with non‐contact muscle injuries in sport: A systematic review

“…Methodological quality scores of the studies reviewed ranged from 11/15 to 15/15 on the McMaster scale. This quality was classed as high in one study (6%) 38 and excellent (94%) in the remaining 16 studies 22–37 . However, due to variability of methodologies and data analysis, a meta‐analysis was not possible.…”