Vitamin D and tibial bone density, geometry, and microarchitecture in male military recruits: an observational study and randomized controlled trial.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Vitamin D may mitigate bone stress injuries in military training by modulating changes in bone.

This cross-sectional observational study (Study 1) and randomized controlled trial (Study 2) investigated associations between vitamin D metabolites and tibial structure and density, and the effect of vitamin D supplementation on tibial adaptations to military training.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as teenagers, young adults and adults, men only.

Circulating vitamin D metabolites (biologically "active" and "inactive") and tibial structure were measured in participants during week 1 and week 12 (Study 2 only) of initial military training.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized and placebo-controlled.

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

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

What Was Measured

Associations between vitamin D metabolites and HRpQCT outcomes at week 1 were tested in Study 1.

There was no association between total 25(OH)D or vitamin D receptor single-nucleotide polymorphisms and any measure of density, geometry, or microarchitecture (p ≥.063).

The subject headings attached to it are Vitamin D, Military Personnel, Tibia and Bone Density.

Author keywords: musculoskeletal injury, nutrition, stress fracture and sunlight exposure.

What This Means in Plain Language

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

The publication is from 2025 (Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research), a journal based in England.

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