Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that maintains normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus and helps to form and maintain strong bones. Recent research also suggests that sufficient intake of Vitamin D may provide protection from and decrease an individual's risk of developing osteoporosis, hypertension, cancer, and several autoimmune diseases. But it's role in type 1 diabetes in children with respect to proper blood sugar control is not known
Researchers have found in a new study that vitamin D insufficiency at time of onset of type 1 diabetes was associated with worse blood sugar control in children.
The findings of the research shall be published in the Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Earlier studies have found that T1DM adolescents vitamin D deficiency coincided with poor blood sugar control and disturbed body composition. 25(OH)D levels were positively related to muscle stores and negatively with fat stores. Therefore it was recommended that vitamin D deficiency should be corrected by implementation of regular vitamin D supplementation and increased intake of vitamin D-rich foods, as well as increased outdoors activities.
Vitamin D is produced in skin in response to direct sunlight . It is also found in small amounts in some foods such as oily fish as well as foods fortified with vitamin D such as dairy products, breakfast cereal, and orange juice . Most foods are not a great source of vitamin D necessitating intake of Vitamin D supplementation to boost vitamin D levels.
Dr Raquel Segovia-Ortí at Pediatrics, Son Espases University Hospital, Palma, Spain and associates conducted a study to evaluate whether Vitamin D blood levels at onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) would influence analytical variables of worse prognosis of the disease at the beginning and after one year of development.
The investigators conducted a retrospective study of pediatric patients (0–14 years) diagnosed with T1DM with initial measurements of blood levels of vitamin D was performed at Son Espases Hospital, between March 2012 and April 2019 (n=67).
They found that Vitamin D insufficiency was related to age, blood sugar control,glycosylated hemoglobin, and creatinine. An improvement in blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin was found in subjects whose baseline serum 25(OH)D was >30 ng/mL. Bivariate correlation analysis adjusted by age showed a significantly positive correlation of vitamin D with pH , bicarbonate , and free levothyroxine . Independent variables associated with vitamin D insufficiency were age and winter season .
They concluded that Hypovitaminosis D is related to biochemical variables showing greater severity and higher glycosylated hemoglobin at diagnosis: higher creatinine, lower free levothyroxine, pH, and bicarbonate. Unsupplemented patients with baseline deficiency showed persistently worse blood sugar control compare to those with baseline repletion.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2020-0149