{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T13:36:03Z","timestamp":1785159363243,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,29]],"date-time":"2022-04-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1651190400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Fundaci\u00f3n para la Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica de C\u00f3rdoba (FIBICO)"},{"name":"AES Farma, Bilbao Spain"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>There is general agreement that optimal vitamin D status is necessary for bones, muscles, and general health, particularly in older adults, who are at higher risk of negative consequences of vitamin D deficiency, including sarcopenia; vitamin D supplementation is proposed as a potential intervention to mitigate sarcopenia. Several RCTs have reported that calcifediol (25(OH)D) was more potent than cholecalciferol in increasing plasma 25(OH)D. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the effects of calcifediol on physical performance and muscle strength. We searched databases from inception to 1 January 2022 for studies investigating calcifediol on physical performance or muscle strength parameters. We calculated the difference between the means of follow-up vs. baseline data using standardized mean differences (SMD) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs); a random-effect model was considered for all of the analyses. Seven RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. Calcifediol significantly improved gait speed (SMD = 2.500; 95%CI = 1.768\u20133.223; p &lt; 0.0001); handgrip strength (n = 5446 participants, SMD = 0.532; 95%CI: 0.305\u20130.758; p &lt; 0.0001; I2 = 20.2%); and leg extension (n = 4318 participants, SMD = 0.641; 95%CI: 0.346 to 0.935; p &lt; 0.0001; I2 = 18.8%;) vs. baseline values. In conclusion, in this systematic review and meta-analysis, we observed that calcifediol may have a positive effect on muscle strength parameters, with less evidence on physical performance. These data further indicate the importance of vitamin D and, in particular, of calcifediol, not only on bone metabolism but also on muscle parameters and sarcopenia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu14091860","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,2]],"date-time":"2022-05-02T07:08:58Z","timestamp":1651475338000},"page":"1860","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Effect of Calcifediol on Physical Performance and Muscle Strength Parameters: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1349-6530","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mario","family":"Barbagallo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Geriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9328-289X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicola","family":"Veronese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9193-1422","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agnese","family":"Di Prazza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"Pollicino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luca","family":"Carruba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"La Carrubba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ligia J.","family":"Dominguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Kore University of Enna, 94100 Enna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Charoenngam, N., and Holick, M.F. 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