Vitamin D deficiency may boost type 1 diabetes risk

By David Liu and editing by Sheilah Downey

A new study published Nov. 9 in Pediatric Diabetes suggests that low levels of serum vitamin D increases risk of type 1 diabetes in children.

The case-control study found children with type 1 diabetes had significantly lower levels of vitamin D in their blood than normal children.

Borkar V V and colleagues from Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in India tested blood samples from 50 children aged 6 to 12 who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes within one week of diagnosis and 50 age-matched children without the condition.

Children with diabetes had 20 ng/mL or 50 nmol/L of vitamin D (25-OHD) in their blood compared to 26 ng/mL or 65 nmol/L in the blood of children without the disease.

Vitamin D deficiency defined as having less than 20 ng/mL or less than 50 nmol/L was found in 58 percent of diabetic children compared to 32 percent in children without the disease.

Previous epidemiological studies have already suggested a link between vitamin D deficiency in early life and the later onset of type 1 diabetes.

Another case-control study of 170 cases and age-matched 170 controls found vitamin D deficiency in 91 percent of children with type 1 diabetes and 85 percent of non-diabetic children.  The difference is small, but significant, according to the authors.

The study was conducted by Bener A and colleagues from Doha, Qatar and published in Acta diabetologica.

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