Severely vitamin D-deficient athletes present smaller hearts than sufficient athletes

Background Vitamin D (25(OH)D) deficiency has associations with bowl/colon cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Many athletes are vitamin D deficient, yet no studies have examined the association between 25(OH)D status and cardiac structure and function in healthy athletes. Design A total of 506 national-level athletes [football (50%), handball (23%), volleyball (16%), and basketball (11%)] and 244 control participants presented for precompetition medical assessment. Controls were healthy individuals registered with a sporting federation undertaking 30 ng/ml), 30 and 23.4% insufficiency (20–30 ng/ml), 37.2 and 48.8% deficiency (10–20 ng/ml), and 11 and 15.6% severe deficiency (