Influence of Vitamin D Supplementation on Immune Function of Healthy Aging People: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Journal Front Nutr

Specialty Nutritional Sciences

Date 2022 Nov 17

PMID 36386950

Authors

Honglin Dong

Viktorija Asmolovaite

Sebastien Farnaud

Derek Renshaw

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the influence of vitamin D supplementation on immune function of healthy older adults.

Materials And Methods: Designed as a randomized controlled trial, 21 participants (55-85 years) completed the study during May-November 2018 in Coventry, England. The participants were randomized into vitamin D or the control group, stratified by age, gender and body mass index. The vitamin D group ( = 12) took vitamin D3 tablets of 1,000 IU/day for 12 weeks plus vitamin D education leaflet, while the control group ( = 9) were only provided with the leaflet. At baseline, 6 and 12 weeks, plasma 25(OH)D levels and immunological and metabolic parameters including phagocytic activity of granulocytes and monocytes, tumor necrosis factor, interleukin 6, lymphocyte subsets and fasting blood glucose and lipid were measured. Dietary vitamin D intake was analyzed at baseline and week 12. Data were presented as mean ± SD. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA and independent -test were used to analyze the data.

Results: At baseline, 42.9% of the participants were vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D < 25 nmol/L), only 10% achieved a level of 25(OH)D > 50 nmol/L. Overweight/obese participants ( = 9) had significantly lower mean plasma 25(OH)D concentration (22.3 ± 8.7 nmol/L) than normal weight participants (48.1 ± 34.3 nmol/L) ( = 0.043). There was a significant increase in plasma 25(OH)D concentration in vitamin D group compared with that in control group ( = 0.002) during the intervention period. The plasma 25(OH)D concentration in vitamin D group was increased at 6 weeks (from 38.4 ± 37.0 nmol/L at baseline to 51.0 ± 38.2 nmol/L) with little change observed between 6 and 12 weeks (51.8 ± 36.4 nmol/L). The plasma creatinine concentration in vitamin D group was significantly decreased compared with the control group ( = 0.036) (79.8 ± 7.0 μmol/L at baseline vs 75.1 ± 5.4 μmol/L at week 12). No significant effect of vitamin D supplementation was determined on immunological parameters.

Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is common among the aging population in the UK even during the summertime. Vitamin D supplementation at 1,000 IU/day for 12 weeks significantly increased plasma 25(OH)D concentration but showed no effect on metabolic and immunological parameters except decreased plasma creatinine.

Citing Articles

Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Immunosenescence: Modulation Through Interventions and Lifestyle Changes.

Pangrazzi L, Meryk A Biology (Basel). 2025; 14(1).

PMID: 39857248 PMC: 11760833. DOI: 10.3390/biology14010017.

References

Majak P, Rychlik B, Stelmach I . The effect of oral steroids with and without vitamin D3 on early efficacy of immunotherapy in asthmatic children. Clin Exp Allergy. 2009; 39(12):1830-41. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2009.03357.x. View

Heaney R, Armas L, Shary J, Bell N, Binkley N, Hollis B . 25-Hydroxylation of vitamin D3: relation to circulating vitamin D3 under various input conditions. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008; 87(6):1738-42. DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/87.6.1738. View

Teumer A, Gambaro G, Corre T, Bochud M, Vollenweider P, Guessous I . Negative effect of vitamin D on kidney function: a Mendelian randomization study. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2018; 33(12):2139-2145. PMC: 6275146. DOI: 10.1093/ndt/gfy074. View

Agarwal R, Hynson J, Hecht T, Light R, Sinha A . Short-term vitamin D receptor activation increases serum creatinine due to increased production with no effect on the glomerular filtration rate. Kidney Int. 2011; 80(10):1073-9. DOI: 10.1038/ki.2011.207. View

Fisher S, Rahimzadeh M, Brierley C, Gration B, Doree C, Kimber C . The role of vitamin D in increasing circulating T regulatory cell numbers and modulating T regulatory cell phenotypes in patients with inflammatory disease or in healthy volunteers: A systematic review. PLoS One. 2019; 14(9):e0222313. PMC: 6759203. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222313. View

Wang T, Nestel F, Bourdeau V, Nagai Y, Wang Q, Liao J . Cutting edge: 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is a direct inducer of antimicrobial peptide gene expression. J Immunol. 2004; 173(5):2909-12. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.173.5.2909. View

Hewison M . An update on vitamin D and human immunity. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2011; 76(3):315-25. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2011.04261.x. View

Sherwani S, Khan H, Ekhzaimy A, Masood A, Sakharkar M . Significance of HbA1c Test in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Diabetic Patients. Biomark Insights. 2016; 11:95-104. PMC: 4933534. DOI: 10.4137/BMI.S38440. View

Bouillon R, Manousaki D, Rosen C, Trajanoska K, Rivadeneira F, Richards J . The health effects of vitamin D supplementation: evidence from human studies. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2021; 18(2):96-110. PMC: 8609267. DOI: 10.1038/s41574-021-00593-z. View

10.

De Vita F, Lauretani F, Bauer J, Bautmans I, Shardell M, Cherubini A . Relationship between vitamin D and inflammatory markers in older individuals. Age (Dordr). 2014; 36(4):9694. PMC: 4150893. DOI: 10.1007/s11357-014-9694-4. View

11.

Gariballa S, Yasin J, Alessa A . A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation with or without calcium in community-dwelling vitamin D deficient subjects. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2022; 23(1):415. PMC: 9063133. DOI: 10.1186/s12891-022-05364-z. View

12.

Goncalves-Mendes N, Talvas J, Duale C, Guttmann A, Corbin V, Marceau G . Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation on Influenza Vaccine Response and Immune Functions in Deficient Elderly Persons: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Front Immunol. 2019; 10:65. PMC: 6375825. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00065. View

13.

Kim S, Brodsky I, Chatterjee R, Kashyap S, Knowler W, Liao E . Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Kidney Function in Adults with Prediabetes: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2021; 16(8):1201-1209. PMC: 8455038. DOI: 10.2215/CJN.00420121. View

14.

Amrein K, Scherkl M, Hoffmann M, Neuwersch-Sommeregger S, Kostenberger M, Tmava Berisha A . Vitamin D deficiency 2.0: an update on the current status worldwide. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2020; 74(11):1498-1513. PMC: 7091696. DOI: 10.1038/s41430-020-0558-y. View

15.

Koeffler H, Amatruda T, Ikekawa N, Kobayashi Y, DeLuca H . Induction of macrophage differentiation of human normal and leukemic myeloid stem cells by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and its fluorinated analogues. Cancer Res. 1984; 44(12 Pt 1):5624-8. View

16.

Touskova T, Vytrisalova M, Palicka V, Hendrychova T, Chen Y, Fuksa L . Patterns of Non-adherence to Supplementation with Calcium and Vitamin D in Persistent Postmenopausal Women Are Similar at Start and 1 Year Later: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study. Front Pharmacol. 2016; 7:339. PMC: 5043018. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00339. View

17.

Geara A, Castellanos M, Bassil C, Schuller-Levis G, Park E, Smith M . Effects of parathyroid hormone on immune function. Clin Dev Immunol. 2010; 2010. PMC: 2945648. DOI: 10.1155/2010/418695. View

18.

Hu Z, Chen J, Sun X, Wang L, Wang A . Efficacy of vitamin D supplementation on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients: A meta-analysis of interventional studies. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019; 98(14):e14970. PMC: 6456062. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000014970. View

19.

Chandra G, Selvaraj P, Jawahar M, Banurekha V, Narayanan P . Effect of vitamin D3 on phagocytic potential of macrophages with live Mycobacterium tuberculosis and lymphoproliferative response in pulmonary tuberculosis. J Clin Immunol. 2004; 24(3):249-57. DOI: 10.1023/B:JOCI.0000025446.44146.52. View

20.

Prietl B, Treiber G, Mader J, Hoeller E, Wolf M, Pilz S . High-dose cholecalciferol supplementation significantly increases peripheral CD4⁺ Tregs in healthy adults without negatively affecting the frequency of other immune cells. Eur J Nutr. 2013; 53(3):751-9. DOI: 10.1007/s00394-013-0579-6. View