Abstract 16118: Vitamin D3 Significantly Decreases Vascular Stiffness, Improving Cognitive Impairment and Sarcopenia in a Frail, Elderly Population From Buenos Aires, Argentina

Introduction: Aging is the leading risk factor for multiple chronic diseases especially cardio and cerebrovascular and for a decline in physical and mental function. Progressive stiffening arterial wall, cognitive impairment and sarcopenia are hallmarks of aging. Due to the pleiotropic actions that have been discovered in vitamin D (VD), which include vascular ,muscular and cognitive effects, we hypothesized that VD3 supplementation might decrease vascular stiffness and could have beneficial effect on mental status and sarcopenia in a frailty elderly population.

Methods: We randomized 42 residents (78±6.5 yo; 24 females) from a public geriatric institution, to receive either 100,000 IU of VD3 or placebo (P) every 15 days for 6 months. Arterial stiffness (AS) was evaluated through central systolic pressure (cSYS), central pulse pressure (cPP), and the augmentation index (AIx) a measure of systemic AS derived from the ascending aortic pressure waveform; using Uscom® device. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Clock-Drawing Test (CDT), which is simple and effective for this population. Skeletal muscle strength/sarcopenia, were assess with the up and go test (UGT), muscle strength with hydraulic dynamometer, body mass index (BMI) and mini-nutritional assessment (MNA) test.

Results: VD group showed a statistically significant decrease in AS vs P. VD Δ cSYS -12.3 mmHg, Δ cPP -6.7 mmHg mmHg and Δ AIx -17.8 %, for all three parameters: p<0.05. The CDT score improved in VD group (4.3 to 5.9, p <0.05) but there were no statistically significant differences in P group. Muscle strength in VD group improved significantly (from 15.1±9.4 to 18.7±3.8 Kg force/cm ² , p<0.05) vs no difference in P group. UGT improved with statistical significance in both VD and P group. The BMI and the MNA test were also favorable for VD group although they did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions: Vitamin D3 6-months supplementation improved vascular compliance by decreasing arterial stiffness, improved cognitive performance and sarcopenia indicators in this frail elderly people. Although this was a preliminary study, a larger number of patients studies should be conducted to validated these findings and to consider VD3 supplementation in this population.