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Differential effects of vitamin D on upper and lower body fat-free mass: potential mechanisms.

Richard P Kirwan
Published in: Molecular biology reports (2022)
Vitamin D insufficiency is a global health concern and low vitamin D status is regularly associated with reduced muscle mass and sarcopenia in observational research. Recent research using Mendelian randomization (MR) has highlighted the potentially causal positive effect of serum vitamin D (25(OH)D) on total, trunk and upper body appendicular fat-free mass (FFM). However, no such effect was found in lower body FFM, a result that mirrors the outcomes of some vitamin D intervention studies. Here we review the current literature on vitamin D, muscle mass and strength and discuss some potential mechanisms for the differing effects of vitamin D on upper and lower body FFM. In particular, differences in distribution of the vitamin D receptor as well as androgen receptors, in the upper and lower body musculature, will be discussed.
Keyphrases
  • global health
  • randomized controlled trial
  • systematic review
  • public health
  • magnetic resonance
  • magnetic resonance imaging
  • type diabetes
  • computed tomography
  • cross sectional
  • human health
  • climate change
  • lower limb