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The combination of vitamin D deficiency and overweight affects muscle mass and function in older post-menopausal women

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Abstract

Background

It has been suggested that overweight and obese individuals have an increased risk to develop vitamin D deficiency, commonly associated with poor muscle performance. The relationship among fat mass, vitamin D status, and skeletal muscle is still debated.

Aims

To evaluate the effects of the combination of hypovitaminosis D and overweight on muscle mass and strength, and physical performance in post-menopausal women.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, we recruited post-menopausal women referring to a physiatric outpatient service for the management of osteoporosis over a 36-month period. We compared four groups: (1) normal weight with hypovitaminosis D; (2) overweight with normal serum 25(OH)D3; (3) overweight with hypovitaminosis D; and (4) normal weight with normal serum 25(OH)D3 (control group). Outcome measures were: appendicular lean mass-to-BMI ratio; hand grip strength; and short physical performance battery.

Results

We analysed 368 women (mean aged 67.2 ± 7.8 years): 95 normal weight with hypovitaminosis D, 90 overweight with normal levels of 25(OH)D3, 96 overweight with hypovitaminosis D, and 87 normal weight with normal levels of 25(OH)D3. Overweight women with hypovitaminosis D had a significant risk of reduced muscle mass (OR 5.70; p < 0.001), strength (OR 12.05; p < 0.001), and performance (OR 5.84; p < 0.001) compared to controls. Normal weight women with hypovitaminosis D had only a greater risk of an impairment of muscle strength (OR 7.30; p < 0.001) and performance (OR 3.16; p < 0.001).

Discussion

According to our findings, both hypovitaminosis D and overweight should be investigated in post-menopausal women because of their negative effects on skeletal muscle mass and function.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that hypovitaminosis D is associated to impaired muscle function and its combination with overweight might lead also to muscle wasting in a cohort of post-menopausal women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy

    Francesca Gimigliano

  2. Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Via De Crecchio, 4, 80138, Naples, Italy

    Antimo Moretti, Alessandro de Sire, Dario Calafiore & Giovanni Iolascon

Authors
  1. Francesca Gimigliano
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  2. Antimo Moretti
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  3. Alessandro de Sire
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  4. Dario Calafiore
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  5. Giovanni Iolascon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giovanni Iolascon.

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Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Second University of Naples—Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria SUN—AORN “Ospedali dei Colli” (Committee’s reference number: 1102) and respected the Declaration of Helsinki.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Gimigliano, F., Moretti, A., de Sire, A. et al. The combination of vitamin D deficiency and overweight affects muscle mass and function in older post-menopausal women. Aging Clin Exp Res 30, 625–631 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-018-0921-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-018-0921-1

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