Asthma treatment is augmented by Vitamin D (60,000 IU weekly)
Combined Effect of Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Vitamin D Supplementation on Pulmonary Function Tests in Asthma Patients
J Asthma. 2026 Mar 20:1-14. doi: 10.1080/02770903.2026.2647908 PDF rental for 2 days costs $68
India
Objective: To evaluate Combined Effect of Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Vitamin D Supplementation on Pulmonary Function Tests in Asthma Patients.
Methods: In this 12-week comparative interventional study, 90 adults (aged 30-55 years) with mild to moderate asthma and serum 25(OH)D <30 ng/mL were randomized into three groups (n = 30 each):
- Group A (PR + vitamin D),
- Group B (PR only), and
- Group C (vitamin D only).
PR consisted of supervised exercise sessions three times per week for 8 weeks, while vitamin D supplementation was administered as oral cholecalciferol 60,000 IU weekly. Pulmonary function tests (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC) and serum 25(OH)D levels were measured pre- and post-intervention. Within-group and between-group differences were analyzed using paired t-tests and ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc tests.
Results: All interventions significantly improved FEV1 and FVC (p < 0.05), with the greatest gains observed in
- Group A (FEV1 Δ0.44 ± 0.10 L; FVC Δ0.44 ± 0.12 L; FEV1/FVC Δ2.7 ± 1.4%)
PR + Vitamin D - Group B (FEV1 Δ0.32 ± 0.09 L; FVC Δ0.28 ± 0.11 L; FEV1/FVC Δ1.4 ± 1.2%)
PR only - Group C (FEV1 Δ0.18 ± 0.08 L; FVC Δ0.15 ± 0.10 L; FEV1/FVC Δ1.0 ± 1.1%).
Vitamin D only
Between-group comparisons showed Group A > Group B > Group C for pulmonary function improvement (p < 0.001). Serum 25(OH)D increased significantly in Groups A and C (p < 0.001) but remained unchanged in Group B. Compliance was high and no serious adverse events occurred.
Conclusion: Pulmonary rehabilitation and vitamin D supplementation independently improve pulmonary function in patients with mild to moderate asthma, but their combination produces superior outcomes. Integrating vitamin D supplementation into structured PR programs offers a safe, feasible, and potentially synergistic strategy to optimize asthma management.
Forced air definitions (from Claude AI)
FEV1 (Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second): The amount of air a person can forcefully exhale in the first second of a breath, used to detect airflow obstruction — reduced values suggest narrowed airways as seen in asthma.
FVC (Forced Vital Capacity): The total amount of air a person can forcefully exhale after taking the deepest breath possible, reflecting overall lung capacity.
FEV1/FVC Ratio: The percentage of the total exhaled breath expelled in the first second; a ratio below 70% is a key diagnostic indicator of obstructive lung disease like asthma.
Related in Vitamin D Life
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- Asthma and Vitamin D Receptor - many studies
- Newly diagnosed Asthma increased 13% if COVID vaccination (200,000 US children)
- The more severe the Asthma, the lower the vitamin D level
- Asthma probably fought by Vitamin D in more than 4 ways – review
- Mild to moderate persistent asthma cost-effectively treated by Vitamin D
- Asthma treated by Vitamin D - 13th Meta-analysis
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- Those with Asthma or COPD had half the response to Vitamin D
- Asthma 3.7X higher risk of poor Vitamin D Receptor (teens in Taiwan in this case)
- Childhood Asthma risk greatly reduced if mothers were given 4,400 IU Vitamin D daily – RCT 2019
- Unethical to restrict Vitamin D to half of the asthmatic children in RCT
- Risk of infant Asthma cut in half if mother supplemented Vitamin D to get more than 30 ng – RCT
- 5X fewer school days missed due to asthma if take 2,000 IU vitamin D daily – RCT
- Founder of Vitamin D Life has used Inhaled Vitamin D to stop his exercise-induced asthma since about 2015
- Smoking while pregnant lowers vitamin D and increases child asthma by 3.6 X