The Elite Sport Department of Israel, Wingate Institute, Netanya 4290200, Israel.
School of Public Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
Nutrients. 2024 Aug 9;16(16):2627. doi: 10.3390/nu16162627.
The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been a growing concern in recent years. Vitamin D is important in many of the body's physiological systems, such as the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and immune functions. A deficiency of vitamin D in athletes may negatively impact both muscle functions and recovery and, thus, affect performance and increase the risk of injury. Many studies assessed the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in athletes; however, as of today, there are no official recommendations/protocols for screening vitamin D levels in athletes, and only a few studies were performed in male and female elite athletes (i.e., Olympic level), in different sport disciplines.
We investigated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among athletes entering the Israeli Olympic team. A total of 761 samples of Vitamin D(OH)25 from 334 athletes were analyzed. For this analysis, we used the first test the athlete had performed when joining the Olympic team. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<50 nmol/L, as defined by the Endocrine Society Committee) was investigated according to gender, types of sports and outdoor vs. indoor sports through the different seasons of the Israeli Olympic team athletes.
Twenty-five athletes (7.5%) were diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency. One hundred and thirty-one athletes (39.2%) had insufficient levels of vitamin D (50-75 nmol/L). The highest incidence of vitamin D deficiency was found amongst gymnastics and combat sport athletes. A significant difference was also found in vitamin D concentration between seasons. Vitamin D average concentration in the winter was 74.1 nmol/L compared to 86.4 nmol/L in the Summer ( < 0.0005).
Due to the importance of vitamin D to athletic performance and the high prevalence of deficiency and insufficiency, we suggest careful and frequent monitoring of groups at risk, including elite athletes, especially in susceptible sports and during the winter. Future studies are necessary to investigate the effectiveness of Vitamin D supplementation in athletes with low baseline vitamin D levels.
近年来，维生素 D 缺乏症的患病率不断上升。维生素 D 在人体许多生理系统中都很重要，如肌肉骨骼、心血管和免疫系统。运动员维生素 D 缺乏可能会对肌肉功能和恢复产生负面影响，从而影响表现并增加受伤风险。许多研究评估了运动员中维生素 D 缺乏症的患病率；然而，截至目前，尚无针对运动员维生素 D 水平筛查的官方建议/方案，并且仅在少数研究中对男性和女性精英运动员（即奥运水平）进行了不同运动项目的研究。
我们调查了进入以色列奥运队的运动员中维生素 D 缺乏症的患病率。分析了 334 名运动员的 761 份维生素 D(OH)25 样本。对于这项分析，我们使用运动员加入奥运队时进行的第一项测试。根据性别、运动类型以及室内和室外运动，通过以色列奥运队运动员的不同季节，调查维生素 D 缺乏症（<50nmol/L，由内分泌学会委员会定义）的患病率。
25 名运动员（7.5%）被诊断为维生素 D 缺乏症。131 名运动员（39.2%）维生素 D 水平不足（50-75nmol/L）。在体操和格斗运动运动员中发现维生素 D 缺乏症的发生率最高。不同季节之间的维生素 D 浓度也存在显著差异。冬季维生素 D 平均浓度为 74.1nmol/L，夏季为 86.4nmol/L（<0.0005）。
由于维生素 D 对运动表现的重要性以及缺乏和不足的高患病率，我们建议仔细频繁地监测高危人群，包括精英运动员，尤其是在易感运动和冬季。有必要进行未来的研究，以调查维生素 D 补充对维生素 D 基线水平低的运动员的有效性。
