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Association Between Vitamin D Status and Physical Performance: The InCHIANTI Study

¹ Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
² University of Florida, Gainesville.
³ National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁴ University of Perugia, Italy.
⁵ Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
⁶ University of Georgia, Athens.

Address correspondence to Denise K. Houston, PhD, RD, Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157. E-mail: dhouston{at}wfubmc.edu

Background. Vitamin D status has been hypothesized to play a role in musculoskeletal function. Using data from the InCHIANTI study, we examined the association between vitamin D status and physical performance.

Methods. A representative sample of 976 persons aged 65 years or older at study baseline were included. Physical performance was assessed using a short physical performance battery (SPPB) and handgrip strength. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the association between vitamin D (serum 25OHD), parathyroid hormone (PTH), and physical performance adjusting for sociodemographic variables, behavioral characteristics, body mass index, season, cognition, health conditions, creatinine, hemoglobin, and albumin.

Results. Approximately 28.8% of women and 13.6% of men had vitamin D levels indicative of deficiency (serum 25OHD < 25.0 nmol/L) and 74.9% of women and 51.0% of men had vitamin D levels indicative of vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25OHD < 50.0 nmol/L). Vitamin D levels were significantly associated with SPPB score in men (ß coefficient [standard error (SE)]: 0.38 [0.18], p =.04) and handgrip strength in men (2.44 [0.84], p =.004) and women (1.33 [0.53], p =.01). Men and women with serum 25OHD < 25.0 nmol/L had significantly lower SPPB scores whereas those with serum 25OHD < 50 nmol/L had significantly lower handgrip strength than those with serum 25OHD 25 and 50 nmol/L, respectively (p <.05). PTH was significantly associated with handgrip strength only (p =.01).

Conclusions. Vitamin D status was inversely associated with poor physical performance. Given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in older populations, additional studies examining the association between vitamin D status and physical function are needed.

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