Effect of Vitamin D Monotherapy on Indices of Sarcopenia in Community-dwelling Older Adults: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Overview

Journal J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle

Date 2022 Mar 9

PMID 35261183

Authors

Konstantinos Prokopidis

Panagiotis Giannos

Konstantinos Katsikas Triantafyllidis

Konstantinos S Kechagias

Jakub Mesinovic

Oliver C Witard

David Scott

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D supplementation is proposed as a potentially effective nutritional intervention to mitigate the risk of sarcopenia. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the impact of vitamin D supplementation monotherapy on indices of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) compared the effect of vitamin D supplementation (as monotherapy) with placebo on indices of sarcopenia in older (>50 years) adults. Using the random effects inverse-variance model, we calculated the mean difference (MD) in handgrip strength (HGS), short physical performance battery (SPPB), timed up and go (TUG), and appendicular lean mass (ALM) between groups. We also calculated the standardized mean difference (SMD) in general muscle strength and general physical performance (composite plot of all muscle strength and physical performance outcomes, respectively) between groups.

Results: Ten RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. A significant decrease in SPPB scores was observed with vitamin D supplementation compared with placebo (MD: -0.23; 95% CI -0.40 to -0.06; I = 0%; P = 0.007). Vitamin D supplementation conferred no effect on HGS (MD: -0.07 kg; 95% CI -0.70 to 0.55; I = 51%, P = 0.82), TUG (MD: 0.07 s; 95% CI -0.08 to 0.22; I = 0%, P = 0.35), ALM (MD: 0.06 kg/m ; 95% CI: -0.32 to 0.44; I = 73%, P = 0.77), general muscle strength (SMD: -0.01; 95% CI -0.17 to 0.15; I = 42%, P = 0.90), or general physical performance (SMD: -0.02; 95% CI -0.23 to 0.18; I = 71%, P = 0.83).

Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation did not improve any sarcopenia indices in community-dwelling older adults and may compromise some aspects of physical performance. Future studies are warranted to investigate the impact of vitamin D supplementation on individual indices of SPPB, including mobility and balance, in older adults.

Citing Articles

Vitamin D and its receptor in skeletal muscle are associated with muscle disease manifestation, lipid metabolism and physical fitness of patients with myositis.

Vernerova L, Vokurkova M, Laiferova N, Nemec M, Spiritovic M, Mytiai O Arthritis Res Ther. 2025; 27(1):48.

PMID: 40038731 PMC: 11877867. DOI: 10.1186/s13075-025-03516-9.

Exploring the impact of vitamin D-related genetic variants on muscular fitness changes in middle-aged and older adults in Kosovo.

Krasniqi E, Boshnjaku A, Wagner K, Wessner B Front Public Health. 2025; 13:1476492.

PMID: 40017557 PMC: 11864933. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1476492.

The Effects of Vitamin D on Muscle Strength Are Influenced by Testosterone Levels.

Yang A, Lv Q, Han Z, Dai S, Li Y, Hao M J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2025; 16(1):e13733.

PMID: 39957010 PMC: 11830628. DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.13733.

Efficacy of different nutrition interventions on sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Sobhrakhshankhah E, Farahmand M, Hasan Rashedi M, Shahinfar H, Shab-Bidar S, Dinari S BMC Nutr. 2025; 11(1):39.

PMID: 39940017 PMC: 11817602. DOI: 10.1186/s40795-025-01028-y.

Vitamin D status and muscle strength in a pan-European cohort of children and adolescents with normal weight and overweight/obesity.

Zeeb H, Brand T, Lissner L, Lauria F, Molnar D, Veidebaum T Eur J Pediatr. 2025; 184(2):190.

PMID: 39934522 PMC: 11814003. DOI: 10.1007/s00431-025-06024-9.

References

von Haehling S, Morley J, Anker S . An overview of sarcopenia: facts and numbers on prevalence and clinical impact. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2011; 1(2):129-133. PMC: 3060646. DOI: 10.1007/s13539-010-0014-2. View

Prokopidis K, Giannos P, Katsikas Triantafyllidis K, Kechagias K, Mesinovic J, Witard O . Effect of vitamin D monotherapy on indices of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2022; 13(3):1642-1652. PMC: 9178168. DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.12976. View

West D, Abou Sawan S, Mazzulla M, Williamson E, Moore D . Whey Protein Supplementation Enhances Whole Body Protein Metabolism and Performance Recovery after Resistance Exercise: A Double-Blind Crossover Study. Nutrients. 2017; 9(7. PMC: 5537849. DOI: 10.3390/nu9070735. View

Bass J, Nakhuda A, Deane C, Brook M, Wilkinson D, Phillips B . Overexpression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) induces skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Mol Metab. 2020; 42:101059. PMC: 7475200. DOI: 10.1016/j.molmet.2020.101059. View

Harvey N, Kanis J, Liu E, Johansson H, Lorentzon M, McCloskey E . Appendicular lean mass and fracture risk assessment: implications for FRAX® and sarcopenia. Osteoporos Int. 2019; 30(3):537-539. PMC: 6430419. DOI: 10.1007/s00198-019-04904-z. View

Rybchyn M, Abboud M, Puglisi D, Gordon-Thomson C, Brennan-Speranza T, Mason R . Skeletal Muscle and the Maintenance of Vitamin D Status. Nutrients. 2020; 12(11). PMC: 7692087. DOI: 10.3390/nu12113270. View

Beaudart C, Rolland Y, Cruz-Jentoft A, Bauer J, Sieber C, Cooper C . Assessment of Muscle Function and Physical Performance in Daily Clinical Practice : A position paper endorsed by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO). Calcif Tissue Int. 2019; 105(1):1-14. DOI: 10.1007/s00223-019-00545-w. View

Abshirini M, Mozaffari H, Kord-Varkaneh H, Omidian M, Kruger M . The effects of vitamin D supplementation on muscle strength and mobility in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2019; 33(2):207-221. DOI: 10.1111/jhn.12717. View

Sobestiansky S, Michaelsson K, Cederholm T . Sarcopenia prevalence and associations with mortality and hospitalisation by various sarcopenia definitions in 85-89 year old community-dwelling men: a report from the ULSAM study. BMC Geriatr. 2019; 19(1):318. PMC: 6864927. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-019-1338-1. View

10.

Buckinx F, Landi F, Cesari M, Fielding R, Visser M, Engelke K . Pitfalls in the measurement of muscle mass: a need for a reference standard. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2018; 9(2):269-278. PMC: 5879987. DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.12268. View

11.

Chen L, Woo J, Assantachai P, Auyeung T, Chou M, Iijima K . Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia: 2019 Consensus Update on Sarcopenia Diagnosis and Treatment. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2020; 21(3):300-307.e2. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2019.12.012. View

12.

Sahota O . Understanding vitamin D deficiency. Age Ageing. 2014; 43(5):589-91. PMC: 4143492. DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afu104. View

13.

Bhasin S, Travison T, Manini T, Patel S, Pencina K, Fielding R . Sarcopenia Definition: The Position Statements of the Sarcopenia Definition and Outcomes Consortium. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020; 68(7):1410-1418. DOI: 10.1111/jgs.16372. View

14.

Beaudart C, Buckinx F, Rabenda V, Gillain S, Cavalier E, Slomian J . The effects of vitamin D on skeletal muscle strength, muscle mass, and muscle power: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014; 99(11):4336-45. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2014-1742. View

15.

Barry E, Galvin R, Keogh C, Horgan F, Fahey T . Is the Timed Up and Go test a useful predictor of risk of falls in community dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Geriatr. 2014; 14:14. PMC: 3924230. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2318-14-14. View

16.

Ceglia L, Niramitmahapanya S, Da Silva Morais M, Rivas D, Harris S, Bischoff-Ferrari H . A randomized study on the effect of vitamin D₃ supplementation on skeletal muscle morphology and vitamin D receptor concentration in older women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013; 98(12):E1927-35. PMC: 3849671. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2013-2820. View

17.

von Haehling S, Coats A, Anker S . Ethical guidelines for publishing in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle: update 2021. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2021; 12(6):2259-2261. PMC: 8718061. DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.12899. View

18.

Levis S, Gomez-Marin O . Vitamin D and Physical Function in Sedentary Older Men. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016; 65(2):323-331. DOI: 10.1111/jgs.14510. View

19.

Page M, McKenzie J, Bossuyt P, Boutron I, Hoffmann T, Mulrow C . The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021; 372:n71. PMC: 8005924. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n71. View

20.

Tabrizi R, Hallajzadeh J, Mirhosseini N, Lankarani K, Maharlouei N, Akbari M . The effects of vitamin D supplementation on muscle function among postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. EXCLI J. 2019; 18:591-603. PMC: 6785780. DOI: 10.17179/excli2019-1386. View