New research has found yet another potential health benefit for the sunshine vitamin, which has been in the news quite a bit recently for its numerous healthful qualities. Now, researchers believe that vitamin D may also improve the quality of life for the elderly.

The reason behind this finding is rooted in the vitamin’s role in the maintenance of healthy bones throughout a person’s lifetime. Studies have suggested that adequate amounts of vitamin D can also help to maintain muscle strength and functionality, though the conclusions have not been definitive. To obtain a clearer picture of what role the vitamin may play in our physical health, researchers set out to better understand the relationship between diet and overall health.

The research was part of a larger ongoing study (Health, Aging, and Body Composition, or Health ABC) sponsored by the National Institute of Health (NIH) whose goal was to examine the effect that body composition had on long term health and mobility in older adults. Investigators followed over 2700 seniors, with a mean age of about 75 years, over the course of 4 years, assessing the level of vitamin D in their blood at the beginning of the study as well as at 2 year and 4 year intervals. Based on these measurements, doctors hoped to find a correlation between levels of vitamin D and physical functionality, which was measured by how quickly and easily the subjects could perform certain activities. These included walking short distances, maintaining balance in different positions, and repeatedly rising up from a chair. Measurements of endurance and strength were also taken.

By the study’s end, it was observed that, despite some level of physical decline over the 4 years, the seniors who had the highest levels of vitamin D, as measured by 25-hydroxyvitamin D (a precursor to activated vitamin D) were more physically functional and remained so over time, especially when their levels of vitamin D were higher at the beginning of the study.

Interestingly, on the whole, vitamin D intake was generally low in the research population, to the point where over 90% of the subjects consumed less vitamin D than is recommended by health experts. The big question then becomes, will increasing vitamin D intake, either through the use of supplements or exposure to the sun, result in stronger muscles and bones, and by extension, increased physical function?

he answer might only be reached by way of a carefully controlled clinical trial. For now, the information suggests a possible link between vitamin D and a potentially more active lifestyle in a person’s later years. Regardless of what the findings tell us, however, they do support the significance of diet and nutrition and how leading a healthy, active lifestyle can improve our quality of life, especially as we age. The implications are also relevant in light of the growing population of older people in this country.