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Topical Area: Community and Public Health Nutrition

Community and Public Health Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P24-049-23) Outdoor Physical Activity as a Confounder for Vitamin D Status: Findings From a Scoping Review

Monday, July 24, 2023
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 460
Disclosure(s):
Leigh A. Frame, PhD, MHS: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Patrick G. Corr, EdD, MEd, AFAMEE: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Correlations between vitamin D (VitD) and health and disease are plentiful. However, the findings are not always so clear with VitD supplementation studies. We hypothesize that these observed relationships may be confounded by physical activity (PA), especially outdoor PA. The aim of this scoping review is to assess the evidence base for PA as a confounder of VitD status.

Methods: We used Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage approach to conducting scoping reviews and aligned our design with the PRISMA-P guidelines. We conducted systematic searches in CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, and SportDISCUS from inception to November 10, 2022 and reviewed the results via Covidence. Peer-reviewed studies in English related to VitD photoproduction and PA were included.

Results: We included 154 total articles after removal of duplicates and irrelevant results (N=2270). The majority of manuscripts (n=124) were published between 2011 and 2023 and represent cross sectional designs (n=97). The evidence base continues to affirm the relationship between sun exposure and VitD status and the positive impact of sufficient VitD status on athletic performance and physical function; however, the role of PA in this relationship remains unclear.

Conclusions: Research included in this scoping review provides conflicting information regarding the relationship between VitD status, sun exposure, and PA. There is a body of literature that suggests PA alone (i.e., without sun exposure) does not improve 25(OH)D concentrations; however, this is challenged by research that identifies lower rates of VitD deficiency among athletes regardless of sun exposure. At present, the science suggests that the relationship between VitD status and PA seems largely a function of sun exposure with little research considering the potential confounding between the health benefits of PA and the health benefits of VitD. Much work needs to be done and large-scale studies need to be completed to help identify and quantify any confounding between VitD and PA.

Funding Sources: This study received no external funding.