title: Vitamin D: an overview of its role in skeletal muscle physiology in children and adolescents.
abstract: Many children may have insufficient serum concentrations of vitamin D, which could prevent optimal muscle development and function. Vitamin D deficiency in animal models results in negative effects on muscle fiber structure and calcium/phosphorus handling, suggesting an integral role of vitamin D in skeletal muscle function. While there is a dearth of data in humans, the available evidence demonstrates a positive association between vitamin D status and muscle function. This review focuses on the important role of vitamin D in muscle function in children and adolescents who live in North American regions where exposure to ultraviolet B radiation is limited and who are thus at increased risk for vitamin D insufficiency. The effects of vitamin D on muscle cell proliferation and differentiation, muscle fiber structure, and calcium and phosphorus handling are discussed. Moreover, the roles of vitamin D and the vitamin D receptor and their genomic and nongenomic actions in muscle function are explored in depth. Future research should aim to establish a vitamin D status consistent with optimal musculoskeletal development and function in young children.
authors.affiliation: Mary Emily Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Tom J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Hazell
authors.forename: Jason R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: DeGuire
authors.forename: Hope A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Weiler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D014807:Vitamin D