The effect of vitamin D plus protein supplementation on sarcopenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

• Published in: Maturitas Vol. 145; pp. 56 - 63
• Main Authors: Gkekas, Nifon K., Anagnostis, Panagiotis, Paraschou, Vasileios, Stamiris, Dimitrios, Dellis, Spilios, Kenanidis, Eustathios, Potoupnis, Michael, Tsiridis, Eleftherios, Goulis, Dimitrios G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.03.2021
• Subjects: Dietary Proteins - therapeutic use; Dietary Supplements; Humans; Muscle mass; Muscle performance; Muscle strength; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Sarcopenia; Sarcopenia - therapy; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - therapeutic use; Vitamins - therapeutic use; PICO; Muscle strength; rcts; STSt; VDR; CI; PRISMA; SMD; HS; ASMM; SMI; SD; Sarcopenia; Vitamin D; ALMM; EWGSOP; 25(OH)D; PROSPERO; AWGS; BCAA; Muscle mass; Muscle performance
• ISSN: 0378-5122; 1873-4111; 1873-4111
• DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2021.01.002

•Vitamin D plus protein supplementation increases muscle strength in patients with sarcopenia.•There is no evidence of improvement in muscle mass and performance by vitamin D plus protein in patients with sarcopenia.•Further RCTs are needed to clarify the optimal dose and duration of vitamin D and/or protein supplementation on sarcopenia indices. The exact effect of vitamin D supplementation, either as monotherapy or in combination with protein, on musculoskeletal health in patients with sarcopenia is currently unknown. This study aimed to determine the effect of vitamin D alone or with protein supplementation on muscle strength, mass, and performance in this population. A comprehensive search was conducted in Medline, Cochrane Central and Scopus databases, up to March 31st, 2020. Data were expressed as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). I2 index was employed for heterogeneity. The initial search identified 1164 studies, eight of which met the eligibility criteria for qualitative and quantitative analysis, yielding a total of 776 patients. Vitamin D (100–1600 IU/day) plus protein (10–44 g/day) supplementation exhibited a beneficial effect on muscle strength, as demonstrated by an improvement in handgrip strength (SMD 0.38 ± 0.07, 95 % CI 0.18–0.47, p = 0.04; I2 76.2 %) and a decrease in the sit-to-stand time (SMD 0.25 ± 0.09, 95 % CI 0.06–0.43, p = 0.007; I2 0%) compared with placebo. However, the effect on muscle mass, assessed by skeletal muscle index, was marginally non-significant (SMD 0.25 ± 0.13, 95 % CI -0.006–0.51, p = 0.05; I2 0%). No effect on appendicular skeletal muscle mass or muscle performance (assessed by walking speed) was observed with vitamin D plus protein. Vitamin D supplementation, combined with protein, improves muscle strength in patients with sarcopenia, but has no effect on muscle mass or performance.