Overweight senior women with low vitamin D were 12X more likely to be weak

Created March 2018

The combination of vitamin D deficiency and overweight affects muscle mass and function in older post-menopausal women.

Aging Clin Exp Res. 2018 Feb 27. doi: 10.1007/s40520-018-0921-1. [Epub ahead of print]

Gimigliano F1, Moretti A2, de Sire A2, Calafiore D2, Iolascon G3.

  • 1 Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.

  • 2 Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via De Crecchio, 4, 80138, Naples, Italy.

  • 3 Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via De Crecchio, 4, 80138, Naples, Italy. giovanni.iolascon@gmail.com.

Note: Women with low vitamin D but with normal weight were 7.3 X likly to be weak * Overweight and elderly both sunbathe less - 2009 * Sarcopenia (muscle loss) fought by Vitamin D, exercise and protein - many studies * Low Vitamin D breaks down muscle by interferring with protein - Editorial Nov 2013 * Vitamin D increased muscle strength by 1% to 19% (varied with dose and duration) – review June 2016 * Muscle cells differentiate into fat cells if there is low vitamin D in petrie dish – April 2013 * Muscle strength of senior women increased 25 percent with vitamin D, decreased 6 percent with placebo – Oct 2016 Overview Obesity and Vitamin D contains the following summary {include} --- {include} Click here for 2014 study

The higher the Vitamin D, the stronger the Hand Grip

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BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that overweight and obese individuals have an increased risk to develop vitamin D deficiency, commonly associated with poor muscle performance. The relationship among fat mass, vitamin D status, and skeletal muscle is still debated.

AIMS: To evaluate the effects of the combination of hypovitaminosis D and overweight on muscle mass and strength, and physical performance in post-menopausal women.

METHODS:

In this cross-sectional study, we recruited post-menopausal women referring to a physiatric outpatient service for the management of osteoporosis over a 36-month period. We compared four groups:

  • (1) normal weight with hypovitaminosis D;

  • (2) overweight with normal serum 25(OH)D3;

  • (3) overweight with hypovitaminosis D; and

  • (4) normal weight with normal serum 25(OH)D3 (control group).

Outcome measures were: appendicular lean mass-to-BMI ratio; hand grip strength; and short physical performance battery.

RESULTS:

We analysed 368 women (mean aged 67.2 ± 7.8 years): 95 normal weight with hypovitaminosis D, 90 overweight with normal levels of 25(OH)D3, 96 overweight with hypovitaminosis D, and 87 normal weight with normal levels of 25(OH)D3. Overweight women with hypovitaminosis D had a significant risk of reduced muscle mass (OR 5.70; p < 0.001), strength (OR 12.05 ; p < 0.001), and performance (OR 5.84; p < 0.001) compared to controls. Normal weight women with hypovitaminosis D had only a greater risk of an impairment of muscle strength ( OR 7.30 ; p < 0.001) and performance (OR 3.16; p < 0.001).

DISCUSSION:

According to our findings, both hypovitaminosis D and overweight should be investigated in post-menopausal women because of their negative effects on skeletal muscle mass and function.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study demonstrated that hypovitaminosis D is associated to impaired muscle function and its combination with overweight might lead also to muscle wasting in a cohort of post-menopausal women.

PMID: 29488185 DOI: 10.1007/s40520-018-0921-1 PDF was available on Sci-Hub March 2018

Review of this study at Vitamin D Council March 2018

Tags: Seniors Sports Women