Correlation between vitamin D concentration and basic functional mobility in elderly women.

Aim: to determine vitamin D serum concentration, the timed up and go (TUG) test score, and the correlation between vitamin D serum concentration and TUG test score of elderly women.

Methods: a correlative cross-sectional study of elderly women aged 60 years old or above was carried out in three nursing homes in DKI Jakarta and one elderly nursing home in Bekasi, in January 2005. TUG test was performed to evaluate basic functional mobility by measuring the time in seconds to stand from 46 cm height armchair, walk three meters, turn around, and return to full sitting in chair. Vitamin D serum concentration was measured by ELISA method. Calcium ion serum concentration that was measured by NOVA method, age and body mass index (BMI) were confounding variables.

Results: of forty-two elderly women who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, thirty subjects which proportional randomly assigned participated in this study. Mean (+SD) vitamin D serum concentration was 68.0 (21.1) nmol/L, with concentration < 50 nmol/L was 23.3%, TUG score was 10.7 (2.1) seconds, BMI was 22.3 (3.7) kg/m2, age was 70.2 (6.4) years, and median (minimum-maximum) ionized calcium serum concentration was 1.095 (1.030-1.230) mmol/L. Vitamin D serum concentration did not show significant correlation with TUG (r = -0.008; P = 0.968). There were also no significant correlations among the confounding variables and TUG. The correlation with TUG for BMI r = 0.014; P = 0.942, ionized calcium serum concentration r = 0.287; P = 0.124, and age r = 0.315; P = 0.09.

Conclusion: vitamin D serum concentration has not show significant correlation with basic functional mobility of elderly women, the higher vitamin D serum concentration was not followed by lesser time to perform TUG test; the proportion of subjects with TUG score < 10 seconds (freely mobile in functional mobility) were lesser in vitamin D deficiency respondents.