Vitamines et minéraux

Background: Vitamin D has a key role to prevent falls in the elderly. Does it play the same function in the nonelderly (18-64 yrs)?

Objective and methods: A cross-sectional survey was addressed to investigate associations between falls, their related physical performance, and 25[OH]D₃ status in 256 non-elderly adults regularly work indoors at latitude 40° north region.

Results: The mean value of the serum 25[OH]D₃ was 15.6 ± 7.0 ng/ml. We divided the serum 25[OH]D₃ levels into 3 groups. The deficient, inadequate, and adequate group was as a level of <12.0 ng/ml, 12.0 ng/ml to <20 ng/ml and ≥ 20 ng/ml. Percentage of each group was 35%, 38%, and 27%. Falls prevalence of the past 12 months was 8.9%, 5.1%, and 11.8%. Among the 3 groups, no significant differences were found in falls incidence, their related physical performance, spinal alignment, bone, muscle status, and laboratory findings. The mean age of the 3 groups was 37.2 ± 12.5, 39.7 ± 13.2, 42.0 ± 13.4 years. It was significantly older in the adequate group (p<0.01).

Conclusions: No associations found among the prevalence of falls, their related physical performance, spinal alignment, bone, muscle status, laboratory data, and the 25[OH]D₃ levels. Therefore, for Vitamin D deficiency, assessment of Vitamin D status in the non-elderly (18-64 yrs) workers may be less valuable as far as falls were concerned. But 73% of the 256 non-elderly adults working indoors did not have adequate serum 25[OH] D₃. A further longitudinal study is mandatory.

Magnesium is an essential cofactor of more than 600 enzymatic reactions in intermediary metabolism and is involved in all ATP-dependent processes. Be it oxygen utilisation, neuromuscular coordination or cardiopulmonary performance, magnesium is a key element in the trouble-free progression of numerous metabolic processes in the athlete. Magnesium is the second most common intracellular divalent cation; it is present in its ionised form Mg2+ and combines with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to form Mg-ATP complexes. For many physical functions, magnesium is essential to regulate the tone and contractility of smooth muscle in vascular structures. It is particularly important in the regulation of blood pressure, vascular resistance, glucose utilisation, metabolomics, lipid profiles and lactate clearance. DNA polymerases and DNA-dependent RNA polymerase also require magnesium as a cofactor, making metabolic steps in DNA replication, RNA transcription, nucleic acid and protein synthesis dependent upon magnesium. Magnesium stabilises, for example, the active conformation of nucleic acids and is required to reduce or compensate the charge of multivalent anions or polyanions.