Association Between the 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Status and Physical Performance in Healthy Recreational Athletes

Abstract

Molecular and clinical studies have linked vitamin D (vitD) deficiency to several aspects of muscle performance. For this retrospective cross-sectional study data from 297 male (M) and 284 female (F) healthy recreational athletes were used to evaluate the prevalence of vitD deficiency in athletes living in Austria and to determine whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) correlates with maximal (Pmax) and submaximal physical performance (Psubmax) measured on a treadmill ergometer. The data were controlled for age, season, weekly training hours (WTH), body mass index (BMI) and smoking status. 96 M and 75 F had 25(OH)D levels ≤ 20 ng/mL. 25(OH)D levels showed seasonal variations, but no seasonal differences in Pmax and Psubmax were detected. M with 25(OH)D levels ≤ 20 ng/mL had significantly lower Psubmax (p = 0.045) than those with normal levels. In F no significant differences in Pmax or Psubmax were detected. Stepwise multiple regression analysis including all covariates revealed significant correlations between 25(OH)D levels and Pmax (β = 0.138, p = 0.003) and Psubmax (β = 0.152, p = 0.002) in M. Interestingly, for F significant correlations between 25(OH)D and both Pmax and Psubmax disappeared after adding WTH to the model. In conclusion, our data suggest that 25(OH)D status is associated with physical performance especially in M, while in F, WTH and BMI seem to affect the correlation.

Influence of 25-Hydroxy-Vitamin D Insufficiency on Maximal Aerobic Power in Elite Indoor Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In male recreational athletes with vitamin D insufficiency, a significantly lower submaximal physical performance on a treadmill ergometer was found compared to those with sufficient concentrations [36]. Similar associations were observed in individuals at different stages of life, with focus on both ordinary everyday musculoskeletal tasks and peak athletic performance [37].…”

Prevalence and Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency in Young Male Russian Soccer Players in Winter

“…Such a deficiency may negatively impact their performance and increase injury rate [23,24,25,26,27]. An insufficient concentration of 25(OH)D is often found among recreational athletes, reaching 76% in this group [28]. The existing studies performed in adult professional soccer players also confirmed the high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in this group of athletes.…”

Association between physical activity, cardiometabolic risk factors and vitamin D in children and adolescents: a systematic review

“…The inclusion criteria used for the study were: (i) original articles published between 2007 and 2019; (ii) articles published in English, Portuguese and Spanish; (iii) studies with cross-sectional design, because of the number reduced of studies with a longitudinal design to compose a systematic review [24][25][26][27] and most of them are related to sports performance [25][26][27] or assessed vitamin D supplementation 27 ; (iv) studies that included children and adolescents, because this phase is crucial for the choice of habits, such as habits of sun exposure and practice of physical exercise, which tends to be maintained at other stages of life, making this phase of life important to be studied [28][29][30][31] ; (v) studies that evaluated the relationship between vitamin D and physical activity and/or vitamin D and cardiometabolic risk factors. For this, the cardiometabolic risk factors considered in the present review were obesity, insulin resistance, systemic arterial hypertension, unfavorable changes in lipid profile (low HDL and elevated LDL and TG) 32-34. Measurement of physical activity levels were considered both with objective (accelerometer) and subjective (questionnaire) measurements and physical fitness (strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility and muscular endurance) and (vi) studies that used blood analysis of 25-hidroxivitamina D (25 (OH) D) concentrations, which is the most abundant metabolite and the best indicator for evaluation of vitamin status 35 .…”