{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,2]],"date-time":"2025-08-02T14:29:41Z","timestamp":1754144981127,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"PeerJ","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,16]],"date-time":"2025-07-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752624000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n The relationship between the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and muscle strength has been extensively investigated; however, the findings of this research remain inconclusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between VDR variants (ApaI<\/jats:italic> rs797523<\/jats:ext-link>, BsmI rs1544410<\/jats:ext-link>, and FokI<\/jats:italic> rs2228570<\/jats:ext-link> genotypes) and athletic performance in youth soccer players in China.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Materials and Methods<\/jats:title>\n A total of 142 male soccer players (73 from an elite group and 69 from a sub-lite group) aged 13\u201315 years, and 107 controls (13- to 14-year-old students) were recruited for this study. We measured height, weight, speed, explosive power, anaerobic endurance, and aerobic endurance in both the elite and sub-elite athletes. Apa<\/jats:italic>I, Bsm<\/jats:italic>I and Fok<\/jats:italic>I genotypes were detected in controls, elite, and sub-elite soccer players with the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) technique. The \u03c7<\/jats:italic>2<\/jats:sup> test was applied to analyze the correlation between genotype distribution and allelic frequency in elite and sub-elite athletes and controls. One-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni\u2019s post hoc test were implemented to analyze the differences in parameters among groups, and statistical significance was set at p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0\u2264\u00a00.05.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n (1) The genotype distributions of the Apa<\/jats:italic>I, Bsm<\/jats:italic>I, and Fok<\/jats:italic>I in controls, elite, and sub-elite soccer players were consistent with the Hardy\u2013Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) results, except for the Bsm<\/jats:italic>I genotype distribution in control s (\u03c7<\/jats:italic>2<\/jats:sup>\u00a0=\u00a07.396, df = 1, p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.025). (2) The BsmI<\/jats:italic> AG frequency in the controls and sub-elite players was significantly higher than in the elite players (\u03c7<\/jats:italic>2<\/jats:sup>\u00a0=\u00a06.4, df = 1, p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.011; \u03c7<\/jats:italic>2<\/jats:sup>\u00a0=\u00a04.50, df = 1, p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.034, respectively). The frequency of the FokI<\/jats:italic> TT genotype in the controls was significantly higher than in the elite and sub-elite players (\u03c7<\/jats:italic>2<\/jats:sup>\u00a0=\u00a012.737, df = 1, p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0<\u00a00.001, \u03c7<\/jats:italic>2<\/jats:sup>\u00a0=\u00a08.805, df = 1, p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.003, respectively). The frequency of the ApaI A in the elite players was significantly lower than that in the controls and sub-elite players (\u03c7<\/jats:italic>2<\/jats:sup>\u00a0=\u00a03.765, df = 1, p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.05; \u03c7<\/jats:italic>2<\/jats:sup>\u00a0=\u00a012.19, df = 1, p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0<\u00a00.001 respectively). (3) Apa<\/jats:italic>I CC players had longer distances in the standing long jump (SLJ) (p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.026) and shorter times in the 30-m run (p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.003) than Apa<\/jats:italic>I AC players. Additionally, Apa<\/jats:italic>I AA players had significantly longer Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIR1) running distances compared to Apa<\/jats:italic>I AC players (p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.002).<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n Chinese elite youth soccer players are more likely to possess the ApaI<\/jats:italic> CC genotype and are less likely than sub-elite players to have the BsmI<\/jats:italic> A alleles. Additionally, the ApaI<\/jats:italic> CC genotype is associated with better speed and explosive power among Chinese elite youth soccer players.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.19696","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,16]],"date-time":"2025-07-16T08:34:53Z","timestamp":1752654893000},"page":"e19696","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association between vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and athletic performance in Chinese male youth soccer players"],"prefix":"10.7717","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Shidong","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, 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