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Vitamin D, calcium supplementation not linked with skeletal muscle strength in young men
Skeletal muscle strength and serum testosterone levels in young men were not substantially affected by 6 months of cholecalciferol and/or calcium supplementation, according to findings published in Clinical Endocrinology.
Ravinder Goswami, MD, of the department of endocrinology and metabolism at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, and colleagues evaluated data on 180 men (mean age, 20.2 years; mean BMI, 23 kg/m2) with vitamin D deficiency (baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 21.5 nmol/L) to determine the effect of cholecalciferol or calcium supplementation on skeletal-muscle strength and serum testosterone level after 6 months.
Participants were randomly assigned to double placebo (n = 43), calcium plus placebo (n = 41), cholecalciferol plus placebo (n = 49) or cholecalciferol and calcium (n = 47). The primary outcome was handgrip.
A significant increase was observed for mean serum 25-(OH)D level; mean serum intact parathyroid hormone level was lower in the cholecalciferol groups compared with the double placebo and calcium plus placebo groups. After 6 months of intervention, mean handgrip strengths were comparable among the four groups despite the increase in 25-(OH)D in the cholecalciferol groups.
No significant correlations were observed between baseline handgrip strength and serum total testosterone and free androgen index. Decreases in mean testosterone level and free androgen index were similar across the four groups after 6 months.
“Six-months of vitamin D and calcium supplementation had no significant effect on skeletal-muscle strength and serum testosterone in young males,” the researchers wrote. “However, this being the first [randomized controlled trial] which assessed the skeletal muscle strength and testosterone after 6 months of vitamin D and/or calcium supplementation, more studies are required to confirm the results of the present study. Also, a meta-analysis may help to resolve the issue of vitamin D supplementation and its axis with testosterone and muscle strength.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.