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Saturday Nov 22, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study recently published in Minerva Pediatrica suggests taking vitamin D supplements may help patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus who suffer vitamin D deficiency.

Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus could not produce insulin, which is needed for blood sugar metabolism.  Like patients with diabetes mellitus type 2, type 1 patients have levels of circulating HbA1c, which indicates the severity of the disease.

The current study led by researchers at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran showed patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus treated with 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 biweekly reduced their fast blood sugar and HbA1c at the end of the 3-month treatment.

In the current study, 70 children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus type 1, which is often found in children, were given 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 biweekly for three  months. Five patients who did not complete the treatment were excluded from the study.  Among the participants, 66% were vitamin D deficient or had less than 30ng/mL vitamin D in the blood.

Vitamin D supplements was found to decrease both fast blood sugar levels and HbA1c levels significantly in the treated subjects and have no effect on calcium and alkaline phosphatase concentrations.

The study concluded "HbA1c may be reduced by administration of vitamin D to children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus type 1 without changing the dose of insulin."

A study led by scientists at University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts found vitamin D supplementation can reduce the concentration of HbA1c in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but not in those with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

In addition to the favorable effect of vitamin D supplements on the hemoglobin A1c, the study published in PLoS One this year also finds that vitamin D can also lower alanine transaminase and BMI SDS in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

In the study, all 131 participants, many of whom were found vitamin D deficient, received either ergocalciferol or cholecalciferol for 8 weeks when a dose of 7000 IU/day was used or 12–16 weeks when a dose of 400–4000 IU/day was used. (Could the difference in the dosage made the difference?)

Previous studies have shown a link between vitamin D deficiency and blood sugar metabolism disorders like diabetes mellitus.

Doctors at Red Cross Hospital in Athens, Greece published a study in 2013 indicating that vitamin D deficiency may be related to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.

In their study, Kostoglou-Athanassiou et al. measured before and after vitamin D supplementation glycosylated hemoglobin or HbA1c and 25(OH)D3 levels in 120 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and 120 age- and gender-matched controls with the disease.

The doctors found vitamin D levels were lower in those with type 2 diabetes mellitus and among diabetics, there was an inverse association between vitamin D levels and HbA1c levels.

Those studies suggest that patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus should take vitamin D supplements to make sure they do not suffer hypovitaminosis d or vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is not commonly found in foods. Mushroom, eggs and cold water fish provide some vitamin D.  In winter, it’s easy for people to develop vitamin D deficiency due to the insufficient exposure to sunlight.  Vitamin D3 supplements are readily available in local health stores or online supplements stores.  (David Liu, PHD)

References

Ordooei M1, Shojaoddiny-Ardekani A, Hoseinipoor SH, Soleimanizad R, Miroliai M, Zare-

Zardini H.  Effect of vitamin d on hba1c levels of children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus type 1.  Minerva Pediatr. 2014 Nov 20.  

Nwosu BU, Maranda L.    The effects of vitamin D supplementation on hepatic dysfunction, vitamin D status, and glycemic control in children and adolescents with vitamin D deficiency and either type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus.  PLoS One. 2014 Jun 11;9(6):e99646.  

Kostoglou-Athanassiou I, Athanassiou P, Gkountouvas A, Kaldrymides P.  Vitamin D and glycemic control in diabetes mellitus type 2.   Ther Adv Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Aug;4(4):122-8.