Yang Shidong, Zhang Wei, Jia Meng, Chen Haichun
Department of Physical Education, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, China.
School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China.
PeerJ. 2025 Jul 16;13:e19696. doi: 10.7717/peerj.19696. eCollection 2025.
The relationship between the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and muscle strength has been extensively investigated; however, the findings of this research remain inconclusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between VDR variants ( rs797523, BsmI rs1544410, and rs2228570 genotypes) and athletic performance in youth soccer players in China.
A total of 142 male soccer players (73 from an elite group and 69 from a sub-lite group) aged 13-15 years, and 107 controls (13- to 14-year-old students) were recruited for this study. We measured height, weight, speed, explosive power, anaerobic endurance, and aerobic endurance in both the elite and sub-elite athletes. I, I and I genotypes were detected in controls, elite, and sub-elite soccer players with the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) technique. The test was applied to analyze the correlation between genotype distribution and allelic frequency in elite and sub-elite athletes and controls. One-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni's post hoc test were implemented to analyze the differences in parameters among groups, and statistical significance was set at ≤ 0.05.
(1) The genotype distributions of the I, I, and I in controls, elite, and sub-elite soccer players were consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) results, except for the I genotype distribution in control s ( = 7.396, df = 1, = 0.025). (2) The AG frequency in the controls and sub-elite players was significantly higher than in the elite players ( = 6.4, df = 1, = 0.011; = 4.50, df = 1, = 0.034, respectively). The frequency of the TT genotype in the controls was significantly higher than in the elite and sub-elite players ( = 12.737, df = 1, < 0.001, = 8.805, df = 1, = 0.003, respectively). The frequency of the ApaI A in the elite players was significantly lower than that in the controls and sub-elite players ( = 3.765, df = 1, = 0.05; = 12.19, df = 1, < 0.001 respectively). (3) I CC players had longer distances in the standing long jump (SLJ) ( = 0.026) and shorter times in the 30-m run ( = 0.003) than I AC players. Additionally, I AA players had significantly longer Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIR1) running distances compared to I AC players ( = 0.002).
Chinese elite youth soccer players are more likely to possess the CC genotype and are less likely than sub-elite players to have the A alleles. Additionally, the CC genotype is associated with better speed and explosive power among Chinese elite youth soccer players.
维生素D受体（VDR）基因与肌肉力量之间的关系已得到广泛研究；然而，这项研究的结果仍无定论。本研究的目的是评估VDR基因变异（rs797523、BsmI rs1544410和rs2228570基因型）与中国青少年足球运动员运动表现之间的关联。
本研究共招募了142名年龄在13 - 15岁的男性足球运动员（73名来自精英组，69名来自次精英组）以及107名对照组（13 - 14岁的学生）。我们测量了精英组和次精英组运动员的身高、体重、速度、爆发力、无氧耐力和有氧耐力。采用单核苷酸多态性（SNP）技术在对照组、精英组和次精英组足球运动员中检测I、I和I基因型。应用检验分析精英组和次精英组运动员及对照组中基因型分布与等位基因频率之间的相关性。采用单因素方差分析和Bonferroni事后检验分析各组参数的差异，设定统计学显著性水平为≤0.05。
（1）对照组、精英组和次精英组足球运动员中I、I和I的基因型分布符合Hardy - Weinberg平衡（HWE）结果，但对照组中I基因型分布除外（= 7.396，自由度 = 1，= 0.025）。（2）对照组和次精英组运动员中AG频率显著高于精英组运动员（分别为= 6.4，自由度 = 1，= 0.011；= 4.50，自由度 = 1，= 0.034）。对照组中TT基因型频率显著高于精英组和次精英组运动员（分别为= 12.737，自由度 = 1，< 0.001；= 8.805，自由度 = 1，= 0.003）。精英组运动员中ApaI A的频率显著低于对照组和次精英组运动员（分别为= 3.765，自由度 = 1，= 0.05；= 12.19，自由度 = 1，< 0.001）。（3）I CC基因型球员的立定跳远（SLJ）距离更长（= 0.026），30米跑时间更短（= 0.003），相比I AC基因型球员。此外，与I AC基因型球员相比，I AA基因型球员的Yo - Yo间歇恢复测试1级（YYIR1）跑步距离显著更长（= 0.002）。
中国精英青少年足球运动员更有可能拥有CC基因型，且比次精英组运动员拥有A等位基因的可能性更小。此外，CC基因型与中国精英青少年足球运动员更好的速度和爆发力相关。
