Effect of modulating dietary vitamin D on the general bone health of rats during posterolateral spinal fusion.

Vitamin D plays a significant role in musculoskeletal health by regulating calcium, phosphate, and promoting new bone mineralization. The purpose of this study was to understand the effect of dietary vitamin D on general bone health during peri-operative bone healing via an in vivo dosing study of vitamin D in a rat posterolateral fusion model using autograft. Vitamin D Deficient (DD), vitamin D Insufficient (ID), Control vitamin D (CD), and Hyper-vitamin D (HD) groups were studied. Increasing dietary vitamin D improved quantitative measures of femoral geometry, including femoral strength, stiffness, and density. Femoral biomechanics, cortical thickness, moment of inertia, cross-sectional area, and measures from bone ashing were all greater in the HD group versus the CD. This suggests that additional dietary vitamin D above normal levels during spinal fusion may lead to improvement in bone health. Serum vitamin D levels were also observed to decrease during fusion healing. These results demonstrate that dietary vitamin D improves general bone health in the femur of a rat model during posterolateral spinal fusion. This suggests a role for further clinical evaluation of vitamin D dietary intake during the peri-operative period, with the possibility of avoiding adverse consequences to general bone health.