Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #332419

Research Project: Nutrients, Aging, and Musculoskeletal Function

Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging

Title: Vitamin D and muscle function

Author
item DAWSON-HUGHES, BESS - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2017
Publication Date: 3/22/2017
Citation: Dawson-Hughes, B. 2017. Vitamin D and muscle function. In: J. Adamski, editor. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Vitamin D Workshop, March 22, 2017, Boston, MA. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2017.03.018.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Muscle weakness is a hallmark of severe vitamin D deficiency, but the effect of milder vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency on muscle mass and performance and risk of falling is uncertain. In this presentation, I review the evidence that vitamin D influences muscle mass and performance, balance, and risk of falling in older adults. Special consideration is given to the impact of both the starting 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level and the dose administered on the clinical response to supplemental vitamin D in older men and women. Based on available evidence, older adults with serum 25(OH)D levels < 40 nmol/L appear most likely to improve their muscle performance with supplementation. The vitamin D dose range of 700 to 1,000 IU per day has been effective in many studies; lower doses have generally been ineffective and several doses above this range have increased the risk of falls. In conclusion, older adults with serum 25(OH)D levels < 40 nmol/L are likely to have fewer falls if supplemented with 700 to 1,000 IU per day of vitamin D.