Vitamin D Levels Linked to Mobility

WINSTON-SALEMResearchers from Wake Forest University presented study results at Experimental Biology 2010, showing vitamin D levels are associated withlower extremity function (LEF), but necessarily declines in function. A little more than 2,700 well-functioning older adults from the Health ABC Study were investigated for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels and LEF at baseline 2 years and 4 years, including tests for walking and knee strength.

Compared to those with the lowest D levels (<50 nmol/L), subjects with the highest vitain D levels (75 nmol/L) had 0.17 (SE=0.03) higher Health ABC SPPB scores (p<0.0001) and 0.09 (SE=0.01) m/sec faster gait speed on the 400-m walk test (p<0.0001) across all 3 time points, but had similar knee strength (p=0.79). LEF declined over time, but researchers found no diefinitive link between D levels and time.

They concluded, "Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with lower extremity function but not with greater declines in lower extremity function over 4 years of follow-up."