Vitamin D Deficiency and Molecular Changes in Circulating MicroRNAs in Older Adults with Lower Back Pain

Table 1

Demographic, lifestyle, and other related biological parameters of the subjects according to LBP disability scores (OSW scores; N = 110).

	Normal (0%–20%) (n = 40; 36.4%)		Moderate-LBP (20%–40%) ^(b) (n = 35; 31.8%)		Severe-LBP (41%–60%) ^(b) (n = 35; 31.8%)
	Male (n = 25, 62.5%)	Female (n = 15; 37.5%)	Male (n = 20, 57.14%)	Female (n = 15; 42.9%)	Male (n = 19, 54.3%)	Female (n = 16; 45.7%)
Age (year)	52.6 ± 3.6	52.3 ± 3.4	51.9 ± 4.1	51.6 ± 4.3	49.9 ± 3.7	49.4 ± 3.9
Anthropometry
BMI	21.9 ± 3.6	22.8 ± 3.8	24.3 ± 4.6	26.9 ± 5.9^a	26.1 ± 4.6^a	28.1 ± 5.8^a
WHtR	0.49 ± 0.11	0.51 ± 0.12	0.89 ± 0.15	0.96 ± 0.23^a	1.2 ± 0.18^a	1.31 ± 0.28^a
Muscle mass
MAC (in cm)	32.3 ± 1.5	33.6 ± 1.8	18.5 ± 2.9	16.3 ± 2.4^a	13.8 ± 1.9	12.5 ± 1.4
TSF (in mm)	14.2 ± 3.2	15.3 ± 3.7	11.3 ± 4.6	10.4 ± 3.6^a	9.6 ± 4.6	8.6 ± 5.1
MAMC (in mm)	21.9 ± 3.7	23.9 ± 4.1	15.9 ± 2.7	14.3 ± 1.9^a	11.7 ± 2.1	9.8 ± 3.2
Diet measurements
Diet score	18.3 ± 4.5	17.5 ± 4.7	11.5 ± 2.8	10.2 ± 2.6^a	8.6 ± 5.1	6.8 ± 3.8^a
Dietary vitamin D intake (IU/d)	318 ± 48	315 ± 46	211 ± 48	196 ± 42^a	186 ± 61	136 ± 53^a
Dietary Ca intake (mg/d)	1800 ± 67	1795 ± 62	854 ± 32	848 ± 38^a	748 ± 49	711 ± 26^a
SGA
A (well nourished)	23 (92.0%)	13 (86.7%)	5 (25.0%)	2 (13.3%)^a	2 (10.5%)	1 (6.25%)^a
B (moderately malnourished)	2 (8.0%)	2 (13.3%)	12 (60.0%)	11 (73.3%)^a	6 (31.6%)	6 (37.5%)^a
C (severely malnourished)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	3 (15%)	2 (13.3%)^a	11 (57.9%)	8 (50.0%)^a
Pain score	2.6 ± 1.3	2.9 ± 3.2	4.8 ± 3.7	6.9 ± 4.7^a	8.9 ± 3.4	11.3 ± 2.8^a
OSW score (0–100)	8.96 ± 3.6	11.3 ± 2.8	31.4 ± 9.1	38.2 ± 6.3^a	54.9 ± 14.6	69.3 ± 18.5^a
PA
Total PA (counts/min)	3986 ± 250	3946 ± 210	2850 ± 125	2630 ± 112^a	1800 ± 168	1685 ± 132^a
MVPA (%)	96.5	94.3	68.9	58.3^a	48.6	38.2^a
Total energy (kcal/d)	6895 ± 520	6832 ± 415	2896 ± 185	2646 ± 175^a	1578 ± 87	1356 ± 49^a
Sun exposure (min/day)	25.4 ± 2.5	23.5 ± 1.6	18.8 ± 0.75	13.6 ± 0.64^a	12.3 ± 0.65	9.5 ± 0.86^a
TNF-α (pg/ml)	8.6 ± 1.4	8.9 ± 3.8	24.5 ± 7.5	29.7 ± 9.3^a	37.9 ± 12.6	46.8 ± 13.6^a
IL-6 (pg/ml)	3.8 ± 1.6	3.9 ± 2.8	8.5 ± 4.5	10.8 ± 3.7^a	15.9 ± 6.8	19.9 ± 7.8^a
CRP (mg/L)	5.1 ± 1.9	5.8 ± 2.8	12.4 ± 5.4	14.5 ± 6.7^a	22.6 ± 8.1	25.8 ± 9.5^a
Vitamin 25(OH)D (ng\mL)	48.7 ± 9.3	46.9 ± 8.6	24.9 ± 3.8	19.9 ± 5.8^a	19.3 ± 4.6	12.8 ± 4.3^a
Bone metabolism markers
s-Ca (mmol/L)	2.8 ± 0.12	2.4 ± 0.18	2.6 ± 0.25	2.3 ± 0.18^a	2.3 ± 0.62	1.9 ± 0.45^a
s-BAP (U/L)	22.8 ± 5.7	21.9 ± 4.8	19.3 ± 4.3	14.8 ± 2.8^a	15.6 ± 3.9	11.2 ± 2.5^a
s-OC (ng/mL)	21.8 ± 4.3	20.6 ± 6.5	18.7 ± 5.7	12.9 ± 3.4^a	16.6 ± 4.8	10.8 ± 3.5^a
S-NTX (pg/mL)	480.6 ± 125.7	476.8 ± 115.4	365.8 ± 91.7	345.1 ± 65.2^a	247.7 ± 42.7	198.3 ± 32.5^a

All values were reported as mean ± SD or median (interquartile range) or percentage. Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA and post hoc (Tukey’s HSD) test were used to compare the mean values of the studied variables. Variables were considered significantly different at . ^a (males versus females in the same group), ^a (severe LBP or moderate LBP versus normal). Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; WHtR: waist-to-height ratio; MVPA: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; PA: physical activity; SGA: the Subjective Global Assessment; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-alpha; IL-6: interleukin-6; CRP: C-reactive protein; s-Ca: serum calcium; s-BAP: serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase; s-OC: serum osteocalcin; S-NTX: serum C-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen; MAC: mid-arm circumference in cm; TSF: triceps skinfold thickness in mm; MAMC: mid-arm muscle circumference in mm; LBP: low back pain; OSW: Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire.