Do Vitamin D Supplements Improve the Physical Capabilities of Elderly Hospital Patients?

Abstract

A randomized double-blind controlled trial of the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the abilities of elderly hospital patients to carry out basic activities of daily life is described. Those patients included in the trial had plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations which were low or low normal as judged by the normal range in young adults. After 2 to 9 months on the trial there was no significant difference in the performance of the control and treatment groups.

Effects of vitamin D on muscle function and performance: a review of evidence from randomized controlled trials

“…A total of 18 RCTs were identified [Janssen et al 2010;Lips et al 2010;Witham et al 2010;Kukuljan et al 2009;Moreira-Pfrimer et al 2009;Brunner et al 2008;Bunout et al 2006;Hajj Fuleihan et al 2006;Sato et al 2005;Dhesi et al 2004;Bischoff et al 2003;Kenny et al 2003;Latham et al 2003;Pfeifer et al 2009Pfeifer et al , 2000Cordless et al 1985;Johnson et al 1980], among which two were omitted from further analysis as one of the papers reported duplicate data [Bischoff-Ferrari et al 2006] and the other paper lacked detailed information on muscle measurements preformed [Johnson et al 1980]. A summary of included studies is presented in Table 1.…”

“…In most studies, vitamin D3 has been administrated orally as either a daily [Janssen et al 2010;Kukuljan et al 2009;Pfeifer et al 2009Pfeifer et al , 2000Brunner et al 2008;Bunout et al 2006;Bischoff et al 2003;Kenny et al 2003], weekly [Lips et al 2010;Hajj Fuleihan et al 2006] [Dhesi et al 2004] or oral [Latham et al 2003] dose, as two doses administrated 10 weeks apart [Witham et al 2010], or as a daily oral dose [Sato et al 2005;Cordless et al 1985]. As shown in Table 1, the doses of vitamin D2 used have varied widely.…”

“…No effects of vitamin D treatment on musculoskeletal function have been demonstrated by the use of different types of questionnaires [Witham et al 2010;Brunner et al 2008;Dhesi et al 2004;Kenny et al 2003;Latham et al 2003;Cordless et al 1985], including the Short Form 36 (SF36) questionnaire [Brunner et al 2008;Dhesi et al 2004;Latham et al 2003]. …”

Effect of vitamin D supplementation on muscle strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Figure 1 details the flow of studies included in the review. A final library of 17 RCTs remained involving 5,072 participants [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39].…”

Hypovitaminosis D in Older Adults

“…A questionnaire-based assessment of function in frail, institutionalised older adults showed a correlation with vitamin D levels and improvement following supplementation [37]. However, a study that assessed activities of daily living in long-stay geriatric patient, before and after vitamin D replacement, gave negative results [38], possibly because the outcome measure was based on too many variables, not all of which are affected by vitamin D. In addition to the role of vitamin D in bone and on neuromuscular function, it is apparent that vitamin D has a role in many tissues and systems of the body [39]. Furthermore, by inhibiting proliferation and promoting cellular differentiation, vitamin D can be used therapeutically in the treatment of diseases where the pathophysiology relates to inappropriate cellular proliferation such as psoriasis and malignancy.…”