Military and Vitamin D - many studies

Created March 2014

Overview

* Vitamin D is essential for soldiers, to enhance physical and mental performance, and to combat stress and fatigue* But soldiers, like everyone, do not have enough Vitamin D* Basic training lowers vitamin D levels if not supplemented* Vitamin D levels have dropped in half around the world since the 1990's* Many publications have noted the decreased levels of vitamin D and health* Eliminating deficiency is only the first step* Robust vitamin D blood level should be the goal (60–80ng)* Most effective way to solve this problem is with an initial loading dose 27 items + links on this page as of Jan 2021

Vitamin D Deficiency in the Military: It’s Time to Act! - Oct 2021

📄 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

86% of US military no longer have enough Vitamin D (30 ng) – Dec 2020

Page has the following comments by Vitamin D Life

There have been many reports of the military no longer having adequate levels of Vitamin D, but little has been done
A war finally caused Britain to add Vitamin C to their sailors to prevent scurvy, delayed 100 years by offical indecision after a clear-cut clinical trial of vitamin C
Will it take a war for the US military to restore Vitamin D levels(too late?
Note: in Dec 2020 we are at war with COVID-19, a war which can be won with Vitamin D

Soldiers' vitamin D levels dropped by half over 18 years – March 2014

"Clinical relevance of optimizing vitamin D status in soldiers to enhance physical and cognitive performance" paper

J Spec Oper Med. 2014 Spring;14(1):58-66.

Wentz LM, Eldred JD, Henry MD, Berry-Caban CS.

Vitamin D deficiency initiates a loss of combat effectiveness by impairing the physical and cognitive functioning of combat Operators.

Synthesized in response to sunlight and consumed in the diet, vitamin D functions as a hormone and regulates gene expression for nearly 300 genes throughout the human body.

These target genes are involved in processes essential to combat operations, such as

immune function,
response to stress,
inflammation, and
regulation of calcium movement.

Since widespread vitamin D deficiency is observed across the U.S. population, poor vitamin D status is expected in Servicemembers.

Physical conditions linked to vitamin D deficiency include increased risk for muscle or bone injury, muscle weakness, and reduced neuromuscular function.

Hormonally, vitamin D levels have been positively correlated with testosterone levels.

Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with

cognitive decline
and depression and
may prolong recovery following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Since vitamin D deficiency elevates systemic inflammation, poor vitamin D status at the time of brain injury may prolong the inflammatory response and exacerbate postconcussive symptoms.

Furthermore, veterans with mTBI experience chronic endocrine dysfunction.

While vitamin D status has not been assessed post-mTBI, it is plausible that vitamin D levels are altered along with testosterone and growth hormone, raising the question of whether vitamin D deficiency results from trauma-related hormonal abnormalities or whether vitamin D deficiency increases the risk for endocrine dysfunction.

Through its association with testosterone production, vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since testosterone levels are altered in veterans with PTSD. Therefore, vitamin D status has a significant impact on Operator health and performance. Supplementing vitamin D to deficient Operators provides a noninvasive and low-cost intervention to maintain combat force.

📄 Download the PDF from ResearchGate via Vitamin D Life

This study was cited by 18 publications as of Jan 2021

Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Effects on Military Forces' Performance-A Review Study - in Farsi, not English
Correlations between Vitamin D Concentrations and Lipid Panels in Active Duty and Veteran Military Personnel - 2016
- 📄 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life - also by Wentz
- Does NOT have any information about vitamin D vs. time
Vitamin D correlation with testosterone concentration in male US soldiers and veterans - 2016
Fatty Acid Blood Levels, Vitamin D Status, Physical Performance, Activity, and Resiliency: A Novel Potential Screening Tool for Depressed Mood in Active Duty. . . - 2016, free PDF
Vitamin D Clinical Relevance in the Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury Among the Military Population
Significance of Vitamin D to tactical athletes - 2014

Chart: Vitamin D levels of everyone dropped by half over 18 years

Vitamin D levels have been crashing since 1995 (Polish Children, Elite Military, etc

Need for Routine Vitamin D Screening in Military Personnel - letter to Editor 2016

MILITARY MEDICINE, 181, 9:1163, 2016

COL Albert F. DiNicola, MC USAR (Ret.); Peter J. DiNicola, BS f; Lucia Sanchez

Pinnacle Medical Group, 8110 Mango Avenue, Fontana, CA 92335.

f University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521.

Dear Editor:

Vitamin D is a necessary component in repairing bone damage, decreasing predisposition to bone injury, and strengthening the immune system. Vitamin D deficiency plays a key role in the etiology of bone pathologies such as rickets, osteoporosis, and osteomalacia. In military personnel, as noted by the Deployment Health Clinical Center, low vitamin D blood levels have been associated with

musculoskeletal injuries and stress fractures

as well as implicated in increased susceptibility to

chronic musculoskeletal pain,
autoimmune disease,
cancer,
immune system dysfunction,
diabetes, and
post-traumatic stress disorder-mild traumatic brain injury symptoms.

Deployed Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom military personnel have a predisposition to low vitamin D levels as a result of lack of sun exposure due to uniform sleeves worn down, shade-cover-seeking behaviors, nighttime operational requirements, use of sunblock, and lack of fortified dairy products in MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Heavy field loads, carried by Service Members and weighing 60-100 plus pounds, also increase the risk of musculoskeletal injuries.

The intent of our study is to demonstrate the suboptimal blood vitamin D levels in apparently well-appearing adolescents and thus support the need for the military to routinely screen for and treat vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency so as to optimize bone health, reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries, and enhance immune system function. In our study, 120 adolescents were randomly screened during routine adolescent well checks for vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxy blood vitamin D levels 0-19.9 ng/mL) and vitamin D insufficiency (25-hydroxy blood vitamin D levels 20.0-29.9 ng/mL). Age ranges were 11-18 years, with a mean age of 14.6 years, with 53% males (63/120) and 47% females (57/120). Ethnicities in this predominantly low middle-income class population were 95% Hispanic , 4% Caucasian, and 1% Middle Eastern with vitamin D levels obtained from May 2015 to February 2016.

The results were as follows:

total number of patients with vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency 80% (95/120),
total number with vitamin D deficiency 32% (38/120),
total number with vitamin D insufficiency 48% (57/120),
total number of males with vitamin D insufficiency 56% (35/63) and deficiency 17% (11/63), and
total number of females with vitamin D insufficiency 39% (22/57) and deficiency 47% (27/57).

The average 25-hydroxy vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency levels were 14.7 ng/mL and 23.4 ng/mL, respectively. Our results demonstrate a high incidence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency levels in both adolescent males and females, with the percentage of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in females (86%, 49/57) greater than in males (73%, 46/63).

In conclusion, more studies are needed to determine the prevalence of suboptimal vitamin D levels among military personnel and the general population, and possible links to other medical conditions, such as

nonhealing fractures,
chronic pain,
anxiety,
depression, and
post-traumatic stress disorder-mild traumatic brain injury.

Mandatory vitamin D levels should be routinely obtained on all military personnel, especially those in pre- and postdeployment mobilization phases. Obtaining blood vitamin D levels are widely available, rapid, inexpensive, and reliable.

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Tags: Bone Deficiency Trauma and surgery