Crucial Role of Vitamin D in the Musculoskeletal System.
Vitamin D is well known to exert multiple functions in bone biology, autoimmune diseases, cell growth, inflammation or neuromuscular and other immune functions. It is a fat-soluble vitamin present in many foods. It can be endogenously produced by ultraviolet rays from sunlight when the skin is exposed to initiate vitamin D synthesis. However, since vitamin D is biologically inert when obtained from sun exposure or diet, it must first be activated in human beings before functioning. The kidney and the liver play here a crucial role by hydroxylation of vitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the liver and to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in the kidney. In the past decades, it has been proven that vitamin D deficiency is involved in many diseases. Due to vitamin D's central role in the musculoskeletal system and consequently the strong negative impact on bone health in cases of vitamin D deficiency, our aim was to underline its importance in bone physiology by summarizing recent findings on the correlation of vitamin D status and rickets, osteomalacia, osteopenia, primary and secondary osteoporosis as well as sarcopenia and musculoskeletal pain. While these diseases all positively correlate with a vitamin D deficiency, there is a great controversy regarding the appropriate vitamin D supplementation as both positive and negative effects on bone mineral density, musculoskeletal pain and incidence of falls are reported.
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. elkewintermeyer@gmx.de.
Elke
E
Wintermeyer
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. Cihle@bgu-tuebingen.de.
Christoph
C
Ihle
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. Sabrina.Ehnert@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
Sabrina
S
Ehnert
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. Ustoeckle@bgu-tuebingen.de.
Ulrich
U
Stöckle
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. Gochs@bgu-tuebingen.de.
Gunnar
G
Ochs
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. PdeZwart@bgu-tuebingen.de.
Peter
P
de Zwart
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. Iflesch@bgu-tuebingen.de.
Ingo
I
Flesch
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. Cbahrs@bgu-tuebingen.de.
Christian
C
Bahrs
Eberhard Karls Universit&#228;t T&#252;bingen, BG Trauma Center, Siegfried Weller Institut, Schnarrenbergstr. 95, T&#252;bingen D-72076, Germany. andreas.nuessler@gmail.com.
Andreas K
AK
Nussler
D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006801:Humans; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency
D014807:Vitamin D
bone health; chronic disease; muscle pain; supplementation; vitamin D; vitamin D deficiency