The Association between Iron and Vitamin D Status in Female Elite Athletes
by
Jadwiga Malczewska-Lenczowska 1,*
, Dariusz Sitkowski 2, Olga Surała 1, Joanna Orysiak 1, Beata Szczepańska 1 and Konrad Witek 3
Jadwiga Malczewska-Lenczowska 1,*, Dariusz Sitkowski 2, Olga Surała 1, Joanna Orysiak 1, Beata Szczepańska 1 and Konrad Witek 3
1
Department of Nutrition Physiology and Dietetics, Institute of Sport, National Research Institute, Trylogii 2/16, 01-982 Warsaw, Poland
2
Department of Physiology, Institute of Sport, National Research Institute, Trylogii 2/16, 01-982 Warsaw, Poland
3
Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Sport, National Research Institute, Trylogii 2/16, 01-982 Warsaw, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2018, 10(2), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10020167
Received: 29 December 2017 / Revised: 23 January 2018 / Accepted: 27 January 2018 / Published: 31 January 2018
Vitamin D may influence iron metabolism and erythropoiesis, whereas iron is essential for vitamin D synthesis. We examined whether vitamin D deficiencies (VDD) are associated with reduced iron status and whether progressive iron deficiency (ID) is accompanied by inferior vitamin D status. The study included 219 healthy female (14–34 years old) athletes. VDD was defined as a 25(OH)D concentration < 75 nmol/L. ID was classified based on ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and blood morphology indices. The percentage of ID subjects was higher (32%) in the VDD group than in the 25(OH)D sufficient group (11%) (χ2 = 10.6; p = 0.001). The percentage of VDD subjects was higher (75%) in the ID than in the normal iron status group (48%) (χ2 = 15.6; p = 0.001). The odds ratios (ORs) for VDD increased from 1.75 (95% CI 1.02–2.99; p = 0.040) to 4.6 (95% CI 1.81–11.65; p = 0.001) with progressing iron deficiency. ID was dependent on VDD in both VDD groups (25(OH)D < 75 and < 50 nmol/L). The ID group had a lower 25(OH)D concentration (p = 0.000). The VDD group had lower ferritin (p = 0.043) and iron (p = 0.004) concentrations and higher values of TIBC (p = 0.016) and sTfR (p = 0.001). The current results confirm the association between vitamin D and iron status in female athletes, although it is difficult to assess exactly which of these nutrients exerts a stronger influence over the other.
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Keywords:
iron status; 25(OH)D; vitamin D status; mutual relationships; healthy female; athletes
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Malczewska-Lenczowska, J.; Sitkowski, D.; Surała, O.; Orysiak, J.; Szczepańska, B.; Witek, K. The Association between Iron and Vitamin D Status in Female Elite Athletes. Nutrients 2018, 10, 167.
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