# The impacts of vitamin D status and HIIT on physical performance and frailty during aging

> **NIH NIH R56** · STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO · 2020 · $759,718

## Abstract

The impacts of vitamin D status and HIIT on physical performance and frailty during aging
 Frailty is a progressive age-associated condition that raises susceptibility to disability,
hospitalization, and death and may affect as many as 10% of the 50 million individuals currently over
the age of 65, and nearly 70% of those over the age 85. Inactivity and vitamin D insufficiency are also
highly prevalent in older populations, and both are correlated with frailty. High intensity interval
training (HIIT) may be a novel therapeutic strategy as HIIT safely provides substantial strength and
endurance benefits with lower time commitments. The goals of this project are to characterize the
role of vitamin D supplementation in age-related frailty, and whether vitamin D status can
mediate the response to HIIT. Additionally, this project will investigate the role of muscle stem cells
and underlying microRNA (miRNA) signaling in mediating this response. Vitamin D insufficiency
from 6 to 18 months of age in mice leads to declines in physical performance. Additionally, HIIT
enhances physical performance and reduces frailty in mice exercised from 24 to 28 months of age
(equivalent to a 65-80 year old human). The hypothesis of this proposal is that vitamin D
sufficiency is necessary to optimize stem cell function, physical performance, and the response to
exercise, as well as reduce frailty during aging. To test this hypothesis, vitamin D sufficient mice will
be compared to those that are vitamin D insufficient in terms of physical performance and frailty
during aging and in the response to HIIT. This study will address critical gaps in the vitamin D field,
which is stymied by conflicting studies regarding the role of vitamin D in regulating physical
performance, frailty, and the response to exercise. The use of a mouse model in this study will allow
an understanding of the longitudinal impacts of HIIT and vitamin D over the human equivalent of
decades, which are otherwise difficult to determine in clinical studies due to length as well as the
obfuscating contributions of lifestyle and genetic confounders. Findings from our proposed study will
provide a clinical trial blueprint for successful implementation of exercise and vitamin D
supplementation, thus improving the quality of care for our aging population.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10229660
- **Project number:** 1R56AG065561-01
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO
- **Principal Investigator:** Bruce R. Troen
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $759,718
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10229660

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10229660, The impacts of vitamin D status and HIIT on physical performance and frailty during aging (1R56AG065561-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10229660. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*