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Association of serum vitamin D with change in weight and total body fat in a German cohort of older adults

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 136–139 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

We examined the association of baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) with change in weight and total body fat in a cohort of community-dwelling older adults from Southern Germany. A total of 735 participants of the population-based KORA-Age Study (2009–2012), aged 65–90 years, were followed for 2.9±0.1 years. Body fat was assessed with bioelectrical impedance analysis. Linear and multinomial logistic models, adjusted for baseline covariables, were used to examine the association of 25(OH)D with percentage weight and body fat change during follow-up. 25(OH)D levels were not associated with overall weight change or body fat loss. Higher 25(OH)D levels were associated with a lower likelihood of having gained >3% of body fat in women but not in men. As we cannot exclude residual confounding by outdoor physical activity and diet, our results are not sufficient to support a causal role of 25(OH)D in the etiology of obesity in Caucasian older adults.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the “Kompetenznetz Adipositas (Competence Network Obesity)” funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FKZ: 01GI1121B). The KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg) research platform, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology and the State of Bavaria, was initiated and financed by the Helmholtz Zentrum München (German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg). As part of the ‘Health in old age’ program, the KORA-Age Study was financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF FKZ 01ET0713 and 01ET1003A).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany

    S Vogt, A Zierer, B Linkohr, J Linseisen, A Peters & B Thorand

  2. DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany

    S Vogt & A Peters

  3. Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany

    M Laxy

  4. Department of Internal Medicine II-Cardiology, University of Ulm Medical Center, Ulm, Germany

    W Koenig

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  1. S Vogt
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  2. A Zierer
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  3. M Laxy
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  4. W Koenig
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  5. B Linkohr
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  6. J Linseisen
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  7. A Peters
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  8. B Thorand
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Correspondence to B Thorand.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary Information accompanies this paper on European Journal of Clinical Nutrition website

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Vogt, S., Zierer, A., Laxy, M. et al. Association of serum vitamin D with change in weight and total body fat in a German cohort of older adults. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 136–139 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.89

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