Higher vitamin D levels are linked to a lower risk for female pelvic floor disorders, according to the results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reported in the April issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

“Because vitamin D receptors are present in human muscle tissue, a direct effect of vitamin D on muscle physiology is biologically plausible,” write Samuel S. Badalian, MD, PhD, and Paula F. Rosenbaum, PhD, from SUNY Upstate Medical University and St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, New York. “Thus, it is not surprising that vitamin D deficiency has long been clinically associated with impaired muscle strength and loss of muscle mass. Given that vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency is epidemic among adults, it is plausible that low vitamin D status contributes to the development of poor muscle strength and can lead to different pelvic floor disorders such as urinary/fecal incontinence and POP [pelvic organ prolapse].”