Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and pulmonary function in older disabled community-dwelling women

Recent studies have expanded the functions of vitamin D to a possible role in pulmonary function. Our objective was to examine the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), serum parathyroid hormone, and pulmonary function in older women.

We examined the relationship of serum 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone with pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV(1)], forced vital capacity [FVC], and FEV(1)/FVC ratio) in a cross-sectional study of 646 moderately to severely disabled women, 65 years or more, living in the community in Baltimore, Maryland, who participated in the Women's Health and Aging Study I.

Overall, median (25th, 75th percentile) serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were 19.9 (14.7, 26.7) ng/mL. Serum 25(OH)D was positively associated with FEV(1) (p = .03), FVC (p = .18), and FEV(1)/FVC (p = .04) in multivariable linear regression models adjusting for age, race, education, smoking, height, physical activity, cognition, interleukin-6, chronic diseases, and other potential confounders. In the same models, serum parathyroid hormone was not significantly associated with FEV(1), FVC, or FEV(1)/FVC.

These findings support the idea that vitamin D deficiency is independently associated with poor pulmonary function in older disabled women.