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# Diabetes mellitus patients should take vitamin D supplements
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/diabetes_mellitus_vitamin_d_deficiency_0908140911/
- Published: 2014-09-09T10:10:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:10:26.000Z
- Description: A Chinese study of 350 patients with type 2 diabetes found those with carotid plaques had significantly lower blood vitamin D than those without, and that carotid intima-media thickness was greater in patients with lower vitamin D levels.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Vitamins, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

Tuesday Sep 9, 2014 ([foodconsumer.org](http://foodconsumer.org/?ref=foodconsumer.org)) -- A new Chinese [study ](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25168108?ref=foodconsumer.org)suggests vitamin D deficiency can put patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at risk for carotid atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis, the most common cause for heart disease, is the hardening and thickening of the artery walls resulting from a buildup of biomass like white blood cells, fats, and cholesterol in the form of plaques.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients are known to be at higher risk for artery-related heart complications such as hypertension and stroke. An estimated 65% of diabetics die from heart disease or stroke.

Previous studies have already shown that vitamin D can directly prevent plaque formation and reduce blood pressure. The current study of 350 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus found patients with carotid plaques had significantly lower vitamin D in their blood than those without carotid plaques.

The researchers also measured carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in the patients to determine whether vitamin D levels may play a role and found the carotid IMT and carotid plaques higher in those diabetics with the lower vitamin D levels. IMT is used to both diagnose and track the progression of atherosclerosis. (David Liu, PHD)