Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jun 7:10:100.
doi: 10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_227_18. eCollection 2019.

Efficacy of Vitamin D Supplementation in Physical Performance of Iranian Elite Athletes

Karamollah Alimoradi  1 , Bahareh Nikooyeh  2 , Ali Asghar Ravasi  3 , Maliheh Zahedirad  2 , Nastaran Shariatzadeh  2 , Ali Kalayi  2 , Tirang Reza Neyestani  2
Affiliations

Efficacy of Vitamin D Supplementation in Physical Performance of Iranian Elite Athletes

Karamollah Alimoradi et al. Int J Prev Med. .

Abstract

Background: There has been no report of the vitamin D status of the professional athletes from Iran to date. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of weekly vitamin D supplementation on athletic performance in Iranian athletes expedited to Asian competition in Taipei, China, 2015.

Methods: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial. Seventy subjects were enrolled in the study. The athletes were randomly divided into two groups: vitamin D supplement (D; received 50,000 IU of vitamin D supplement weekly) and control (P, received a placebo weekly). Duration of the study was 8 weeks. Anthropometric, dietary, athletic performance, and biochemical evaluations were performed for all subjects in the beginning and in the end of the intervention period.

Results: A significant rise in circulating 25(OH)D concentration was observed in D group (17.3 ± 16.9 ng/mL, P < 0.001), whereas in P group, there was a statistically significant decrement (-3.1 ± 8.4 ng/mL, P = 0.040). There were no either within- or between-group significant differences in Ergo jump, vertical jump, and agility tests. In strength leg press tests, both groups showed a significant improvement. However, comparisons of changes revealed that the improvement in D group was significantly higher than in P group (P = 0.034). Moreover, in sprint test (one repetition-Max, 1RM), only D group had a significant within-group improvement (P = 0.030).

Conclusions: Weekly supplementation with 50,000 IU vitamin D resulted in nearly 17 ng/mL increment in circulating calcidiol. This increase was associated with significant improvement of power leg press and sprint tests in D-supplemented group.

Keywords: Athletes; Vitamin D; exercise.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study protocol at a glance
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Holick MF. The vitamin D deficiency pandemic: Approaches for diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2017;18:153–65. - PubMed
    1. Cannell JJ, Hollis BW, Sorenson MB, Taft TN, Anderson JJ. Athletic performance and vitamin D. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41:1102–10. - PubMed
    1. Lehmann G, Mueller E. [Ultraviolet irradiation and altitude fitness] luftfahrtmedizin. 1944;9:37–43.
    1. Nikooyeh B, Hajifaraji M, Yarparvar A-H, Abdollahi Z, Sahebdel M, Dehkordi AM, et al. Hypovitaminosis D in adults living in a Sunny City: Relation to some cardiometabolic risk factors, national food and nutrition surveillance. Nutrition and Food Sci Res. 2018;5:11–6.
    1. Tønnesen R, Hovind PH, Jensen LT, Schwarz P. Determinants of vitamin D status in young adults: Influence of lifestyle, sociodemographic and anthropometric factors. BMC Public Health. 2016;16:385. - PMC - PubMed