Peak expiratory flow rate shows a gender-specific association with vitamin D deficiency.

CONTEXT

To our knowledge, no previous studies examined the longitudinal relationship between vitamin D status and pulmonary function in a population-based sample of older persons.

OBJECTIVE

Our objective was to examine the cross-sectional as well as the longitudinal relationship between vitamin D status and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) in a representative sample of the Dutch older population.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Participants included men and women in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, an ongoing cohort study in older people.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

PEFR was measured using the mini-Wright peak flow meter.

RESULTS

Men with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels below 10 ng/ml (25 nmol/liter) had a significantly lower PEFR in the cross-sectional analyses, and men with serum 25-OHD levels below 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/liter) had a significantly lower PEFR in the longitudinal analyses as compared with men with serum 25-OHD levels above 30 ng/ml (75 nmol/liter) (cross-sectional: β = -47.0, P = 0.01 for serum 25-OHD <10 ng/ml; longitudinal: β = -45.0, P < 0.01 for serum 25-OHD <10 ng/ml; and β = -20.2, P = 0.03 for serum 25-OHD = 10-20 ng/ml in the fully adjusted models). Physical performance (β = -32.5, P = 0.08 for serum 25-OHD <10 ng/ml) and grip strength (β = -40.0, P = 0.03 for serum 25-OHD <10 ng/ml) partly mediated the cross-sectional associations but not the longitudinal associations. In women, statistically significant associations between 25-OHD and PEFR were observed in the cross-sectional analyses after adjustment for age and season of blood collection but not in the fully adjusted models or in the longitudinal analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

A strong relationship between serum 25-OHD and PEFR was observed in older men, both in the cross-sectional as well as longitudinal analyses, but not in older women. The association in men could partly be explained by physical performance and muscle strength.