Reportedly, strenuous endurance exercise can depress the immune system and induce inflammation and muscle damage. Therefore, this double-blinded, matched-pair study aimed to investigate the impact of vitamin D3 supplementation on immune response (leukocyte, neutrophil, lymphocyte, CD4+, CD8+, CD19+, and CD56+ counts), inflammatory profile (TNF-α and IL-6), muscle damage (CK and LDH levels), as well as aerobic capacity after strenuous endurance exercise in 18 healthy men taking 5000 IU of vitamin D3 (n = 9) or placebo (n = 9) daily for 4 weeks. Total and differential blood leukocyte counts, levels of cytokines, and muscle damage biomarkers were determined before, immediately after, and 2, 4, and 24 h after exercise. The IL-6, CK, and LDH levels were significantly lower in vitamin D3 group at 2, 4, and 24 h post exercise (p < 0.05). Maximal and average heart rates during exercise were also significantly lower (p < 0.05). In the vitamin D3 group, the CD4+/CD8+ ratio after 4 weeks of supplementation was only significantly lower at post-0 than at baseline and significantly higher at post-2 than at baseline and post-0 (all p < 0.05). Taken together, 5000 IU of daily vitamin D3 supplementation for 4 weeks exhibited positive effects in terms of increased blood 25(OH)D levels, CD4+/CD8+ ratio (immune response), and aerobic capacity while inhibiting inflammatory cytokines and CK and LDH (muscle damage) in people performing strenuous endurance exercise.
Keywords: CD4+/CD8+ ratio; Interleukin-6; creatine kinase; heart rate; inflammation; lactate dehydrogenase; strenuous endurance exercise.