Key result
Vitamin D3 supplementation attenuates PC responses and is associated with lower CK and CK-MB post-marathon.
Why the study?
Does vitamin D3 supplementation attenuate cardiac, muscle, and immune biomarker responses after a marathon race in amateur runners?
RCT (n=21)
Single-blind
Does vitamin D3 supplementation attenuate cardiac, muscle, and immune biomarker responses after a marathon race in amateur runners?
Vitamin D3 supplementation for 8 weeks prior to a marathon may attenuate oxidative stress and muscle/cardiac damage markers post-race.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
May warrant vitamin D3 in deficient marathoners to limit cardiac injury markers; leaves open broader adoption pending larger RCTs.
BACKGROUND: Strenuous endurance exercise imposes substantial physiological stress on the cardiovascular system and has been associated with transient elevations in cardiac biomarkers. Vitamin D₃ has been suggested to influence oxidative stress and immune responses. In this study, we investigated the effects of vitamin D₃ supplementation on biomarkers of cardiac, muscle, and immune responses following a marathon race. METHODS: Twenty-one amateur runners were allocated to either a vitamin D₃ supplementation group (receiving vitamin D₃ for 8 weeks) or a placebo group. All participants completed an official full marathon (42.195 km). Blood biomarkers were measured from 24 h before to 24 h after the race. RESULTS: Post-race increases in markers of muscle damage and cardiac stress were observed. Vitamin D₃ supplementation was associated with attenuated elevations in selected biomarkers demonstrating significant interaction effects. Compared with the placebo group, the vitamin D₃ group demonstrated attenuation of protein carbonyls (PC), the only oxidative stress marker showing a significant Group × Time interaction. No significant interaction effects were observed for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) or antioxidant enzymes. Both groups showed post-race increases in white blood cell counts, particularly neutrophils, whereas lymphocyte counts significantly decreased at 0.5 h and 2 h post-race. Immunoprofiling revealed time-dependent alterations in selected immune cell subsets, although no significant interaction effects were detected. Descriptive differences in recovery patterns were observed between groups, and exploratory correlation analyses suggested time-specific associations between immune cell subsets and biochemical markers during recovery. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D₃ supplementation may attenuate PC responses and was associated with lower creatine kinase (CK) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) levels at 24 h post-race following marathon running. Immune alterations were time-dependent, with descriptive differences in recovery patterns between groups.
Weng et al. (2026) conducted an RCT in Amateur runners (n=21). Vitamin D3 vs. Placebo was evaluated on Biomarkers of cardiac, muscle, and immune responses. Vitamin D3 supplementation for 8 weeks attenuated protein carbonyl responses and was associated with lower creatine kinase and CK-MB levels 24 hours post-marathon compared with placebo.
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