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The effect of vitamin D on fibroblast growth factor 23: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 75, pages 988–989 (2021)Cite this article

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Most recent evidence found that vitamin D is linked to a bone-derived phosphaturic hormone, fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23). A review by Zittermann et al. addressed this topic by meta-analysis of randomized control trials (RCTs) [1]. However, limitations and errors raise concerns regarding the validity and interpretation of the authors’ conclusion that vitamin D administration increases concentrations of the cardiovascular risk marker FGF-23.

First, and most concerning is the inclusion of the study Lerch et al. in the overall analysis [2]. This study was conducted in young children (mean age 9 years old). In the Carpenter et al., study although the average age of the participants was 41 years, 3 children aged 10–12 years were also included in the study [3]. Regarding the response of growth hormones to stimulators in children are apparently different from adults; thus, pooling data from studies that were conducted in adults and children in the same analysis are prone to bias. It would be appropriate to perform a sensitivity analysis, including only the studies conducted in adult participants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, School of medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

    Fatemeh Meshkini

  2. Student Research Committee, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

    Fatemeh Meshkini

  3. Yazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

    Sepideh Soltani

  4. Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Zachary Stephen Clayton

  5. Department of Nutrition and Public Health, School of Public Health, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran

    Shima Abdollahi

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  1. Fatemeh Meshkini
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  3. Zachary Stephen Clayton
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  4. Shima Abdollahi
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Contributions

The authors’ responsibilities were as follows: FM, SS, and SA reviewed the article and discovered errors. SA wrote the letter, and ZSC provided critical review. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shima Abdollahi.

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Meshkini, F., Soltani, S., Clayton, Z.S. et al. The effect of vitamin D on fibroblast growth factor 23: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Clin Nutr 75, 988–989 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-021-00903-8

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