Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Muscle Status in Old Patients Recovering from COVID-19 Infection.

What Was Tested

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

In this context, the aim of this study was to analyze the effect of vitamin D on muscle fitness in elderly patients in the recovery phase after SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection.

Why It Was Studied

Background and Objectives: Vitamin D, in addition to its effect on mineral homeostasis, plays a key role in muscle metabolism.

Vitamin D supplementation is involved in muscle recovery after damage as a consequence of either pathology or after high-intensity exercise.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are older adults, men only.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and pilot study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group a baseline to be compared against.

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

What Was Measured

Circulating hematological and biochemical parameters (total protein, glucose, vitamin D, urea, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase/glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, alanine aminotransferase/glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, aldolase, gamma-glutamyl transferase and myoglobin) and the hormones cortisol and testosterone were determined.

PubMed files the paper under topics including COVID-19, Dietary Supplements, Muscles, Pilot Projects, Quality of Life, SARS-CoV-2 and Vitamin D.

The authors tagged it with the keywords biochemistry, blood count, exercise and spirometry.

What This Means in Plain Language

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

The publication is from 2021 (Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)), a journal based in Switzerland.

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