Research
Hormonal
Vitamin D supplementation improves muscle function and reduces fall risk in elderly populations, which indirectly supports insulin sensitivity by preserving lean muscle mass.
For older adults, maintaining adequate vitamin D levels can help preserve muscle strength and reduce the risk of falls. This preservation of muscle mass is beneficial for overall metabolic health and insulin sensitivity.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
In a meta-analysis which included five double-blind randomised, controlled trials in elderly populations (mean age 60 years; n 1237), vitamin D supplementation reduced the corrected OR of falling by 22 % compared with patients receiving Ca or placebo... The purported impact of vitamin D on insulin sensitivity may be, at least in part, through an increase in muscle mass, which will improve overall body insulin sensitivity.
Why this rating
Supported by meta-analysis of RCTs for fall reduction and animal studies for muscle mass.
Source
Vitamin D: emerging new roles in insulin sensitivity
Dorothy Teegarden et al. · Nutrition Research Reviews · 2009
DOI 10.1017/s0954422409389301
narrative_reviewCited 262×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Higher vitamin D status (serum 25(OH)D) is associated with improved insulin sensitivity and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, potentially mediated by increased muscle mass, reduced parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, and enhanced insulin receptor expression.Good
- High levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) are associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and vitamin D's ability to suppress PTH may contribute to improved insulin sensitivity.Moderate
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