Vitamin D supplements linked with lower diabetes risk: Study

If adults with pre-diabetes have high levels of vitamin D, they have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Higher vitamin D intake may be associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes in adults with pre-diabetes, according to a review of clinical trials conducted by a team at the Tufts Medical Centre in the US.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin available in or added to some foods, as a supplement, or produced by the body, when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin. Vitamin D has many functions in the body, including a role in insulin secretion and glucose metabolism.

Observational studies have found a link between low levels of vitamin D in the blood leading to a higher risk of developing diabetes, said the researchers.

The team from Tufts Medical Center in the US conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of three clinical trials comparing vitamin D supplement impacts on diabetes risk.

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The researchers found that over a three-year follow-up period, new-onset diabetes occurred in 22.7 per cent of adults, who received vitamin D and 25 per cent of those who received placebo, a 15 per cent relative reduction in risk.

The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, extrapolated the findings to more than 374 million adults worldwide with pre-diabetes. The research suggests that inexpensive vitamin D supplementation could delay the development of diabetes in more than 10 million people.

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In an accompanying editorial, authors from University College Dublin and Food Safety Authority of Ireland, cautioned that previous research has demonstrated significant adverse impacts of high vitamin D intake. They argue that professional societies promoting vitamin D therapy have an obligation to warn physicians about both required vitamin D intake and safe limits.

The researchers advise that a very-high-dose vitamin D therapy might prevent type 2 diabetes in some patients but may also cause harm.