Effects of Supplemental Vitamin D3, Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Physical Performance Measures in the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL.

What Was Tested

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

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 25 adults were involved.

The age groups tagged for this paper are middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

This study was conducted with 1054 participants (age: men ≥50 and women ≥55 years) at the Center for Clinical Investigations in Boston.

How the Study Was Run

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

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.

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

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

This ancillary study was completed in a New England subcohort that had in-person evaluations at baseline and 2-year follow-up.

Main outcome measures included 2-year changes in physical performance measures of grip strength, walking speed, standing balance, repeated chair stands, and Timed-up and Go (TUG).

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Cholecalciferol, Fatty Acids, Omega-3, Dietary Supplements, Physical Functional Performance, Muscle Strength, Vitamin D and Hand Strength.

Author keywords: omega-3 fatty acids and physical performance.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 25 adults.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 4 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2024 (The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism), a journal based in United States.

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