Vitamin D Insufficiency and Acute Care in Geriatric Inpatients

Cross-sectional association between serum vitamin D concentration and walking speed measured at usual and fast pace among older women: The EPIDOS study

“…(1) Furthermore, the number of chronic diseases in the women studied also may explain the difference in prevalence. Indeed, it has been shown that chronic diseases may affect vitamin D metabolism in older adults (4) and thus should be taken into account while evaluating insufficiency. Nevertheless, it is well recognized that the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency is frequently underestimated (1,2) and, as a consequence, might be higher than previously reported in community-dwelling older adults.…”

“…(1)(2)(3) Indeed, there is increasing evidence that when accounting not for skeletal health but the salutary effects of vitamin D on nonskeletal organs, the optimal health-promoting concentration of 25(OH)D is around 30 ng/mL. (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) In particular, adverse neuromuscular events such as muscle weakness, balance impairment, and reduced nerve conduction have been described for serum 25(OH)D concentrations below 30 ng/mL. (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) Walking speed is a simple, objective performance-based measure of lower limb neuromuscular function that not only allows detection of subtle impairments and preclinical diseases but also is a sensitive marker of functional capacity in older adults.…”

“…(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) In particular, adverse neuromuscular events such as muscle weakness, balance impairment, and reduced nerve conduction have been described for serum 25(OH)D concentrations below 30 ng/mL. (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) Walking speed is a simple, objective performance-based measure of lower limb neuromuscular function that not only allows detection of subtle impairments and preclinical diseases but also is a sensitive marker of functional capacity in older adults. (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16) For instance, Suzuki and colleagues recently demonstrated that walking speed in older adults was positively ORIGINAL ARTICLE J JBMR correlated with physical performance tests such as handgrip strength or stork standing time.…”

“…Mixed results also may be explained by the absence or insufficient control of potential confounders such as age, body mass index (BMI), quadriceps strength, cognitive functioning, physical activity, number of chronic diseases, use of psychoactive drugs, and concentrations of serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH). (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) Lastly, studies used different cutoff values for low serum 25(OH)D concentrations ranging from 10 to 30 ng/mL, which also may explain the divergent results. (1)(2)(3) Thus, to better understand the association of vitamin D with walking speed, every previously used 25(OH)D threshold must be analyzed: 10, 20, and 30 ng/mL.…”

Vitamin D and Ageing: Neurological Issues

“…It has also been proven that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of developing age-related diseases [2,9,81] . More specifically, a high prevalence of neurological disorders has been observed in these geriatric populations at risk of hypovitaminosis D: neuromuscular disorders and cognitive impairment affect respectively around 60 and 70% of subjects aged 75 years and older [82,83] .…”