Effects of daily vitamin D supplementation on respiratory muscle strength and physical performance in vitamin D-deficient COPD patients: a pilot trial.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

To assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on respiratory muscle strength and physical performance in vitamin D-deficient COPD patients.

Secondary outcomes are pulmonary function, handgrip strength, exacerbation rate, and quality of life.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

In addition, participants kept a diary card in which they registered respiratory symptoms.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and pilot.

Because people in this Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc could be set against what happens without it.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study would be practical.

The researchers performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial.

Study visits were conducted at baseline, and at 3 and 6 months after randomization.

During the visits, blood was collected, respiratory muscle strength was measured (maximum inspiratory and expiratory pressure), physical performance and 6-minute walking tests were performed, and handgrip strength and pulmonary function were assessed.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Biomarkers, Cholecalciferol, Dietary Supplements, Disease Progression, Exercise Tolerance, Hand Strength and Lung.

Author keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, muscle strength, physical performance, pulmonary function and vitamin D.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2017 (International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a journal based in New Zealand.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.