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Vitamin D supplementation increases muscle strength, reduces falls in postmenopausal women
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Postmenopausal women who received vitamin D supplements for 9 months increased their muscle strength, reduced their loss of muscle mass and experienced fewer falls vs. women randomly assigned a placebo, according to recent study findings presented at The North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting.
Luciana M. Cangussu, MSc, of Botucatu Medical School at Sao Paulo State University, Brazil, and colleagues analyzed data from 160 Brazilian women aged 50 to 65 years (mean age, 59 years; average time since menopause, 12 years) with a history of falls during the previous 12 months. Women with osteoporosis or a neurologic, musculoskeletal or vestibular disorder that could affect balance were excluded. In a double blind study, women were randomly assigned 1,000 IU daily vitamin D3 (n = 80) or matching placebo (n = 80) for 9 months. Researchers measured muscle mass with DXA; muscle strength was measured by handgrip strength and a chair-rising test.
At the end of treatment, women in the vitamin D group saw a 25.3% increase in muscle strength by the chair-rising test (P = .036). Women in the placebo group saw a 6.8% loss in muscle mass (P = .03), as well as a 46.3% higher rate of falls (P < .001).
“We concluded that the supplementation of vitamin D alone provided significant protection against the occurrence of sarcopenia, which is a degenerative loss of skeletal muscle,” Cangussu said in a press release. – by Regina Schaffer
Reference:
Cangussu L, et al. P-66. Presented at: The North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting; Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2015; Las Vegas.
Disclosure: Endocrine Today was unable to confirm any relevant financial disclosures.