The Sunshine Vitamin Is Lacking In Over Half The World’s Population, Research Indicates
About Scott V Watkins, MD
In my last Learning Center article, I discussed sarcopenia and dynapenia, two muscle-related conditions related to aging.
In the case of dynapenia — the loss of muscle strength, which can have a devastating impact on mobility — we reviewed a study showing how being sedentary contributes to dynapenia (loss of muscle strength) and all-cause mortality.
Now, I would like to get more specific about how dynapenia develops and highlight the role vitamin D plays in preventing muscle weakness that can limit mobility and increase the risk of death.
I spent essentially all of my career as a Radiation Oncologist in fairly mountainous areas, where the skies were gray and cloudy from October through April. As medical practitioners, we were all aware that vitamin D deficiency was common, presumably due to a lack of sun exposure. The reality is more than 50 percent of the world’s population has vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, regardless of ethnicity or geography.
In the September 2022 issue of the journal Calcified Tissue International, a study of 3,205 individuals who were age 50 and did not have base-line dynapenia were evaluated regarding their vitamin D status. Vitamin D is measured as serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D.
(You can read more about the critical role of the so-called “Sunshine Vitamin” as noted in these two published studies focused on specific populations: “Worldwide Vitamin D Status” and
“25 (OH) D Serum levels decline earlier in women than in men and less efficiently prevent compensatory hyperparathyroidism in older adults.”)
In a previous Learning Center article on aging, we discussed the many changes we go through or that worsen as we age, and that process actually begins much earlier than we realize.
Our Vitamin D levels also fall as we get older, due to:
- Dietary changes.
- Chronic diseases.
- Use of Medications.
- Functional limitations.
- Less sun exposure.
- Impaired production of 7-dehydrocholesterol. The compound is present in the skin and is broken down into pre-D isomers (which are quickly converted to D3) in the presence of ultraviolet light B.
For the September 2022 study in Calcified Tissue International, participants did not have baseline dynapenia as measured by hand strength. They were also grouped by age, financial status, living status (alone, married, etc.), overall health, depression status, body mass index (BMI), and season of the year for the vitamin D measurement. All participants lived in England.
Vitamin D levels are divided as follows:
- Sufficient (standard): Greater than 50 nmol/L.
- Insufficient (low): Greater than 30 nmol/L but less than 50 nmol/L.
- Deficient: Less than 30 nmol/L.
The final analysis showed those study subjects who had vitamin D levels that were insufficient or deficient (i.e. less than 50 nmol/L), had a higher risk of developing dynapenia within a 4-year period regardless of any of the other factors that were evaluated. Study participants with a normal vitamin D level had a 78% lower chance of developing dynapenia.
Vitamin D levels are easy and inexpensive to measure. If you fall into the range of less than 50 nmol/L, vitamin D supplementation is available in many forms and dose ranges. At https://functionalmed411.com/, we offer numerous essential supplements for a variety of needs.
Check out our “Shop” pages, and we welcome you getting in touch to learn more about our D-related (and other) supplements, including:
Vitamin D3, 50,000 IU.
K-Force 125 mcg (5,000 IU).
Alpha Base Capsules.
Alpha Base Premier Packs.
Vitamin D 1,000 IU.
Prenatal Complete.
Vitamin D, Dynapenia, And You
