Association between vitamin D levels and physical activity: A cohort study

Introduction: A surprisingly high prevalence of vitamin D (vit D) deficiency has recently been reported worldwide. This study investigated the association between vit D levels and physical activity in the Prospective Epidemiological Research Studies in (PERSIAN) cohort study. Methods This cross-sectional study has been conducted on 9522 participants aged 35 to 70. The serum vit D concentrations were measured, and participants were divided into three tertiles of low, moderate, and high levels according to the metabolic equivalent of task (MET). The cutoff level for vit D deficiency was considered ≤ 12 ng/ml. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 with a significant level of less than 0.05. Results About 4428 participants were male, and the mean age of participants was 51.46 ± 8.91 years. The prevalence of vit D deficiency was 22.8% and more common in women than men (23.8% vs. 21.7%). The prevalence of vit D deficiency decreased with increasing physical activity (P < 0.001). Vit D deficiency is significantly associated with increasing body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.05). In the adjusted model for vit D supplements and sociodemographic characteristics, the participants with low physical activity had a higher risk of vit D deficiency than participants with high physical activity. Conclusions According to our findings, vit D deficiency was associated with a reduced frequency of participation in all forms of physical activity.