By Amber Tovey, Vitamin D Council

A recent meta-analysis of controlled trials published in Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport suggests that vitamin D supplementation increases both lower and upper limb muscle strength.

As you may know, vitamin D’s more classic roles in human health involve the muscles and the bones. Studies consistently show that vitamin D increases muscle strength by increasing the size of muscle fibers and increasing the rate of protein synthesis.

Much of this research has been in the form of randomized controlled trials, meaning researchers can confidently make statements of causality based on results from these trials. With that said, some trials indicate a postive effect for vitamin D on muscle strength, while others suggest vitamin D has no role.

Meta-analyses of vitamin D research are inherently different because of different study design (i.e. using different doses for different durations or achieving different final 25(OH)D levels). Yet, they still ad to clinical understanding and provide a more encompassing look at vitamin D’s role in a specific condition by analyzing multiple studies.

A large meta-analysis consisting of 4,824 participants found that vitamin D supplementation increased lower muscle strength. However, the studies included in the meta-analysis mostly consisted of elderly participants with an average age of 66.

In order to fully illustrate vitamin D’s role in health, in this case muscle strength, it is necessary to determine how it affects all ages. This results in a general understanding of the effects across many different types of individuals.

To help further clarify the relationship between vitamin D supplementation and muscle strength, researchers from London conducted another meta-analysis, but this time among young healthy individuals.

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