Home Diabetes and Endocrinology Low Vitamin D May Be More Closely Tied to DM Than Obesity

Low Vitamin D May Be More Closely Tied to DM Than Obesity

Vitamin D levels more closely linked to glucose levels than body mass index

MONDAY, Feb. 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — People with low levels of vitamin D appear to have an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, even if they aren’t overweight or obese, a new study suggests. The findings were published online Feb. 23 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The study included almost 150 people in Spain. Their vitamin D levels were checked, as was their body mass index. They also had tests for diabetes, prediabetes or other glucose metabolism disorders.

The researchers found that vitamin D levels were lower in subjects with diabetes and prediabetes, significantly so in the lean and morbidly obese groups. Vitamin D levels correlated negatively with homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance and glucose, but not with body mass index.

“Our findings indicate that vitamin D is associated more closely with glucose metabolism than obesity,” study author Manuel Macias-Gonzalez, Ph.D., of the University of Malaga in Spain, said in an Endocrine Society news release. He said the study suggests that vitamin D deficiency and obesity may work together to heighten the risk of diabetes.

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