Efficacy of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplements for Elite Athletes

Purpose: Supplementation with dietary forms of vitamin D is commonplace in clinical medicine, elite athletic cohorts, and the general population, yet the response of all major vitamin D metabolites to high doses of vitamin D is poorly characterized. We aimed to identify the responses of all major vitamin D metabolites to moderate-and high-dose supplemental vitamin D-3. Methods: A repeated-measures design was implemented in which 46 elite professional European athletes were block randomized based on their basal 25[OH]D concentration into two treatment groups. Athletes received either 35,000 or 70,000 IU.wk(-1) vitamin D-3 for 12 wk, and 42 athletes completed the trial. Blood samples were collected for 18 wk to monitor the response to supplementation and withdrawal from supplementation. Results: Both doses led to significant increases in serum 25[OH]D, and 1,25[OH](2)D-3. 70,000 IU.wk(-1) also resulted in a significant increase of the metabolite 24,25[OH](2)D at weeks 6 and 12 that persisted after supplementation withdrawal at week 18, despite a marked decrease in 1,25[OH](2)D-3. Intact parathyroid hormone was decreased in both groups by week 6 and remained suppressed throughout the trial. Conclusions: High-dose vitamin D-3 supplementation (70,000 IU.wk(-1)) may be detrimental for its intended purposes because of increased 24,25[OH](2)DD production. Rapid withdrawal from high-dose supplementation may inhibit the bioactivity of 1,25[OH](2)D-3 as a consequence of sustained increases in 24,25[OH](2)D that persist as 25[OH]D and 1,25[OH](2)D concentrations decrease. These data imply that lower doses of vitamin D-3 ingested frequently may be most appropriate and gradual withdrawal from supplementation as opposed to rapid withdrawal may be favorable.