The body’s ability to absorb calcium and phosphorus is significantly influenced by vitamin D. The immune system and the brain both benefit from it. Researchers from University College London in the UK and the Federal University of So Carlos in Brazil have recently established that vitamin D supplementation significantly lowers the likelihood of dynapenia in elderly adults by 78%.
What is Dynapenia? How can one reduce the risk of having dynapenia?
Age-related muscle strength reduction is known as dynapenia. Muscle atrophy can partially account for it, and it is a significant risk factor for physical disability later in life. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing is a long-term multi-cohort study that started in 2002 and has had more than 15 years of follow-up. The researchers examined data for 3,205 non-dynapenic people aged 50 and over who were followed for four years.
Vitamin D is known to be involved in several bodily processes. It’s a hormone, and its many functions include aiding in muscle healing and releasing calcium for the mechanics of muscular contraction. According to the article’s last author, Tiago da Silva Alexandre, that is precisely what our investigation demonstrated. At UFSCar(Federal University of São Carlos), Alexandre is a professor of gerontology. “Endocrine disorders such as vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency can lead to loss of bone mineral density and a reduction in muscle mass, strength, and function,” he added. The connections between bone and muscle tissue are metabolic as well as mechanical and physical.
Why does taking vitamin D essential?
The study sample included people 50 years of age and older without dynapenia. This is a significant finding in and of itself since it demonstrates how vitamin D insufficiency increases the chance of muscular weakness by 70%. The first author of the article, Maicon Lus Bicigo Delinocente, stated, “We needed to try to quantify the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation because we knew there are many international cases of persons with osteoporosis (bones to become weak and brittle) who use vitamin supplements.”
Individuals with osteoporosis and people who take vitamin D supplements were excluded from the analysis during the study, Maicon said, “We found that the risk of developing muscle weakness by the end of the four-year period was 78% higher for subjects with vitamin D deficiency at the start of the study than for subjects with normal vitamin D levels and 77% higher for those with vitamin D insufficiency”.
The findings demonstrated that both vitamin D shortage and insufficiency increase the likelihood of muscle weakness, according to Alexandre. According to the study’s findings, it’s crucial to take vitamin D supplements if one has a shortage or insufficiency.
This study was published in the journal Calcified Tissue International.
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