Abstract
Study design:
This is a retrospective analysis of total serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) in Swiss elite wheelchair athletes.
Objectives:
The aim was to investigate the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency in Swiss elite wheelchair athletes over the whole year and to detect differences between winter and summer months, and between indoor and outdoor athletes.
Setting:
This study was conducted in Switzerland.
Methods:
A total of 164 blood samples from 72 Swiss elite wheelchair athletes (mean±s.d.: age 32±13 years) were analyzed for total serum 25[OH]D. All participants were members of the national team in their discipline. The following disciplines have been included: rugby, athletics, cycling, tennis, ski alpine, curling and basketball. According to general guidelines, insufficient vitamin D status was defined between 50 and 75 nmol l−1, deficiency below 50 nmol l−1 and severe deficiency below 27.5 nmol l−1.
Results:
In all, 73.2% of all samples showed an insufficiency/deficiency in vitamin D status. Total serum 25[OH]D was significantly higher during summer compared with winter months (69.5±21.4 nmol l−1 vs 51.5±21.9 nmol l−1; P<0.001). Indoor sports showed a higher amount of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency (80.9%) than outdoor sports (70.1%), with a significantly higher 25[OH]D concentration in outdoor sports (P=0.042).
Conclusion:
A high percentage of vitamin D deficiency was found among Swiss elite wheelchair athletes. Conclusively, we recommend supplementation with vitamin D—especially during winter—to prevent a deficiency and an impairment of performance.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Ruth Heller, Seline Magron and Eliane Arnold-Küng from the Institute of Sports Medicine Nottwil, Switzerland for their help with blood sampling and the laboratory of the Swiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil for vitamin D analysis.
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Flueck, J., Hartmann, K., Strupler, M. et al. Vitamin D deficiency in Swiss elite wheelchair athletes. Spinal Cord 54, 991–995 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2016.33
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2016.33
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