Vitamin D Status, Muscle Strength and Physical Performance Decline in Very Old Adults: A Prospective Study

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 9; no. 4; p. 379
• Main Authors: Granic, Antoneta, Hill, Tom R, Davies, Karen, Jagger, Carol, Adamson, Ashley, Siervo, Mario, Kirkwood, Thomas B L, Mathers, John C, Sayer, Avan A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.04.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D; 25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2 - blood; Adults; Aged, 80 and over; Calcifediol - blood; Cohort Studies; Dietary Supplements; Disease Progression; Elder Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Female; Grip strength; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Muscle Strength; Nutritional Status; Prospective Studies; Psychomotor Performance; Risk; Sarcopenia - epidemiology; Sarcopenia - physiopathology; Sarcopenia - prevention & control; Seasons; Self Report; Sex Factors; United Kingdom - epidemiology; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - therapeutic use; Vitamin D Deficiency - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - diet therapy; Vitamin D Deficiency - epidemiology; Vitamin D Deficiency - physiopathology; muscle strength; 25(OH)D; physical performance; grip strength; Timed Up-and-Go Test; very old adults
• DOI: 10.3390/nu9040379
• ISSN: 2072-6643

Mixed reports exist about the role of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in muscle ageing and there are few prospective studies involving the very old (aged ≥ 85) who are at highest risk of low 25(OH)D, loss of muscle mass and strength, and physical performance decline. In the Newcastle 85+ Study ( = 845), we aimed to determine the association between 25(OH)D season-specific quartiles (hereafter SQ1-SQ4), grip strength (GS) and physical performance decline (Timed Up-and-Go Test, TUG) over 5 years using mixed models. In the time-only models with linear and quadratic slopes, SQ1 and SQ4 of 25(OH)D were associated with weaker GS initially in men (SQ1: β (SE) = -2.56 (0.96); SQ4: -2.16 (1.06)) and women (SQ1: -1.10 (0.52); SQ4: -1.28 (0.50)) (all ≤ 0.04). In the fully adjusted models, only men in SQ1 had a significant annual decline in GS of 1.41 kg which accelerated over time (-0.40 (0.1)), (both ≤ 0.003) compared with those in combined middle quartiles. Only women in SQ1 and SQ4 of 25(OH)D had worse TUG times initially, but the rate of TUG decline was not affected. Low baseline 25(OH)D may contribute to muscle strength decline in the very old and particularly in men.