Effect of vitamin D administration on blood oxidative stress factors in university students: A randomized double-blind clinical trial

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is widespread in the world and is prevalent in Muslim countries despite sufficient sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency disrupts mitochondrial function and enhances oxidative stress and leads to common diseases such as metabolic disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation on oxidative stress factors in students. Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized double-blind clinical trial. University students were randomly divided into two groups of control and treatment with a sample size of 26 and 25 in each group, respectively. Students received two pearls of 50,000 unit vitamin D or placebo at time zero and after 4 weeks. Before the beginning of the study and after 8 weeks, oxidative stress biomarkers including the total antioxidant capacity of plasma and lipid peroxidation were measured in the blood samples. Results: At the beginning of the study, there was no significant difference between the treatment group and placebo in the mean of vitamin D, but after the administration of vitamin D, this difference became significant. Vitamin D significantly increased the total antioxidant capacity (P=0.019) and decreased the lipid peroxidation (P=0.004) compared with the placebo group. Conclusion: The results of this study show the effect of monthly administration of 50,000 units of vitamin D on reducing oxidative stress in students.