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Many Italian seniors garden, have high levels of vitamin D and are healthy - April 2012

Vitamin D and Physical Performance in Elderly Subjects: The Pro.V.A Study

Elena D. Toffanello1 elenadebora.toffanello at sanita.padova.it, Egle Perissinotto2, Giuseppe Sergi1, Sabina Zambon3,4, Estella Musacchio3, Stefania Maggi4, Alessandra Coin1, Leonardo Sartori3, Maria-Chiara Corti5, Giovannella Baggio6, Gaetano Crepaldi4, Enzo Manzato1,4
1 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Geriatrics Division, University of Padova, Padova, Italy,
2 Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, University of Padova, Padova, Italy,
3 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy,
4 National Research Council, Aging Branch, Institute of Neuroscience, Padova, Italy,
5 Azienda Unità Locale Socio Sanitaria, Padova, Italy,
6 Division of Internal Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova, Padova, Italy
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We notice that many Italian community-dwelling seniors have a lot of vitamin D
from the PDF "In this sample of elderly subjects one of the most practiced physical activities was gardening (details not shown)."
Note: A common theme of many long-lived societies around the world is working in the garden.
See Blue Zones in Wikipedia
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Background
The role of Vitamin D in musculoskeletal functionality among elderly people is still controversial.
We investigated the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels and physical performance in older adults.

Methods
2694 community-dwelling elderly women and men from the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) were included. Physical performances were assessed by: tandem test, 5 timed chair stands (TCS), gait speed, 6-minute walking (6 mW) distance, handgrip strength, and quadriceps strength. For each test, separate general linear models and loess plots were obtained in both genders, in relation to serum 25OHD concentrations, controlling for several potential confounders.

Results
Linear associations with 25OHD levels were observed for TCS, gait speed, 6 mW test and handgrip strength, but not for tandem test and quadriceps strength. After adjusting for potential confounders, linear associations with 25OHD levels were still evident for the 6 mW distance in both genders (p = .0002 in women; <.0001 in men), for TCS in women (p = .004) and for gait speed (p = .0006) and handgrip strength (p = .03) in men. In loess analyses, performance in TCS in women, in gait speed and handgrip strength in men and in 6 mW in both genders, improved with increasing levels of 25OHD, with most of the improvements occurring for 25OHD levels from 20 to 100 nmol/L.

Conclusion
lower 25OHD levels are associated with a worse coordination and weaker strength (TCS) in women, a slower walking time and a lower upper limb strength in men, and a weaker aerobic capacity (6 mW) in both genders. For optimal physical performances, 25OHD concentrations of 100 nmol/L appear to be more advantageous in elderly men and women, and Vitamin D supplementation should be encouraged to maintain their 25OHD levels as high as this threshold.

The following is the HTML extracted from the PDF file at the bottom of this page (so that it can be translated)

A graphic image of it as well as 2 more tables follow

hor_pone.0034950 1..9
Vitamin D and Physical Performance Table 1. Participants' characteristics by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) quintiles in women: the PRO.V.A. Study.
25OHD quintiles (nmol/Lj
#32 (n = 339)
.32 & #49 (n = 315)
.49 & #68 (n = 322)
.68 & #93
(n = 304)
.93 (n = 317)
Age-adjusted p for trend
Age (yrs)
79.9(7.5)
76.4(7.7)
75.2(6.9)
73.5(6.6)
72.4(6.0)
,.0001 (unadjusted)
BMI (kg/m2)
27.9(5.3)
28.1(5.1)
28.0(4.5)
28.5(4.7)
27.7(4.5)
03
Current smokers, %
6.8
4.4
7.4
6.2
4.4
01
Regular activity,%
49.6
62.4
67.3
77.2
80.2
,.0001
Depression,%
50.5
41.0
37.5
33.8
37.6
07
MMSE ratio
0.72(0.23)
0.77(0.17)
0.79(0.16)
0.82(0.14)
0.83(0.13)
006
Cardiovascular diseases, %
31.6
21.7
16.5
14.9
12.0
003
Neuro-degenerative diseases,%
18.3
9.2
6.8
4.6
3.5
03
Osteoarticular diseases,%
78.6
73.5
72.4
63.5
65.2
03
Any cancer,%
7.1
8.6
6.5
6.2
7.3
97
Visual impairments,%
36.6
26.0
23.6
20.0
18.3
05
Diabetes,%>
13.3
10.8
9.6
8.9
8.5
10
COPD,%
7.1
7.9
3.4
4.3
2.8
005*
Serum levels
Calcium (mg/dl)
9.4(2.4)
9.4(0.4)
9.4(0.4)
9.7(5.7)
9.5(0.43)
49
PTH (ng/L)
56.4(43.1)
44.6(20.6)
42.6(21.0)
39.4(18.9)
36.3(31.5)
<.0001
GFR (ml/min/1.73 m2)
64.5(19.0)
65.9(20.2)
65.9(16.9)
67.9(17.3)
68.9(16.1)
88
Albumin (g/dL)
4.22(0.40)
4.32(0.47)
4.33(0.36)
4.36(0.31)
4.38(0.35)
005
25OHD (nmol/L)
20.4(7.8)
41.2(4.9)
58.5(5.3)
80.1(7.2)
128.5(37.8)
*also adjusted for smoking habit; BMI (body mass index), MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination), COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases), PTH (parathyroid hormone), GFR (glomerular filtration rate), 25OHD (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D) For conversion from nmol/L to ng/ml divide by 2 496
Numbers are mean values (and Standard Deviations) or percentage (%), as appropriate doi:10 1371/journal pone 0034950 t001
PLoS ONE | www .plosone .org
3
April 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 4 | e34950

3 tables from the PDF.

Table 1 = the same as the one above

5 columns: from least to most vitamin D ( <32 nmol to > 93 nmol)
Increased vitamin strongly associated with decreased

  • smoking,
  • cardiovascular disease,
  • neuro-degenerative disease,
  • Osteoarticular disease
  • COPD,

Image

Table 3 (women)

Increased vitamin strongly associated with

  • Getting up from chair faster
  • Faster walking speed
  • Stronger handgrip

Image

Table 2 and table 4 for men are in the PDF
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See also VitaminDWiki

See also Blue Zones in Wikipedia

Note:

Gardening is in 2 of the 3 groups
Loma Linda does not include gardening, but strongly encourages at least 20 minutes of sunshine daily

Image

The study was made in Northern Italy

Image

Attached files

ID Name Comment Uploaded Size Downloads
1269 Padua Italy.jpg admin 25 Apr, 2012 15.15 Kb 1482
1267 Vendiagram Blue Zones.gif admin 24 Apr, 2012 29.74 Kb 2143
1266 Seniors 40 ng.pdf admin 24 Apr, 2012 720.64 Kb 1010
1264 Table 3.jpg admin 24 Apr, 2012 40.29 Kb 1202
1263 Table1.jpg admin 24 Apr, 2012 56.17 Kb 1651