Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in high-level athletics athletes.

OBJECTIVE: Vitamin D works on many biological parameters, functions and pathophysiological phenomena, such as bone metabolism but also extra-osseous metabolism (muscular role immunomodulator, cardiac, infectious). In France, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is estimated between 36% and 79-81% based on a threshold set at 50nmol/L or 75nmol/L, respectively. Due to these effects, vitamin D seems necessary to the health of athletes. The objective of this study was to determine the vitamin D status of in athletics athletes, and to analyse the possibilities of a screening questionnaire of vitamin D deficiency.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective study on an athletics season including high-level athletics athletes. Athletes performed 2 blood sample to determine the vitamin D level during the season: one in winter and one in summer, and completed a questionnaire on the day of the winter blood sample.

RESULTS: During the winter, the average vitamin D level was 76.8nmol/L and 72% of athletes had normal (greater than 50nmol/L); 11.1% of athletes were impaired (below 30nmol/L). During the summer, the average rate was 102.3nmol/L, 95% of athletes had normal, and no athlete had a deficiency of vitamin D. There was a significant relationship between vitamin D levels and the score found by the questionnaire. The deficiency of factors that appeared to be significantly associated with vitamin D levels were: skin color, the use of sunscreen, working conditions for sun exposure and craving for the sun.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: The high-level athletics athletes were less deficient than the general population. This could be explained by the fact that they were training most often outside and had better eating habits. The questionnaire was correlated to blood sample for vitamin D and could be a relevant factor in the screening strategy.