Does Vitamin D Supplementation Improve Physical Function in Generally Healthy Adults?

In the landmark randomized VITAL study, supplementation with 2000 IU of vitamin D₃ daily did not lower incidence of adverse cardiovascular events, cancer, or fractures in relatively healthy middle-aged or older community-dwelling U.S. adults (NEJM JW Gen Med Dec 15 2018 and N Engl J Med 2019; 380:33; NEJM JW Gen Med Aug 15 2022 and N Engl J Med 2022; 387:299). Now, the researchers have examined the effect of vitamin D supplementation on “physical performance” in a substudy that involved 1000 of the 26,000 VITAL participants.

At baseline, substudy participants (mean age, 65; mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D level, 28 ng/mL) underwent measurement of grip strength, balance, walking speed, and leg strength. Two years later, no significant differences we…