Vitamin D may help prevent Prediabetes progression to diabetes: Study

China: Vitamin D supplementation decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in people with prediabetes and significantly increases reversion of prediabetes to normoglycemia (normal blood sugar), reveals a recent review in the journal Diabetes Care. However the benefit of T2D prevention seems to be confined to only nonobese people.

Observational studies have shown low vitamin D levels to be associated with diabetes. However, it is not clear if intervention with vitamin D supplements can lower T2D risk. To determine the same, Yu Zhang, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, and colleagues aimed to assess whether vitamin D supplementation reduces T2D risk in prediabetes patients. 

For the purpose, the researchers searched the online databases from inception to 5 July 2019 and included RCTs that assessed vitamin D supplementation versus placebo in relation to new-onset T2D in people with prediabetes. A total of eight eligible trials were identified with a total of 4,896 subjects. 

Key findings of the study include:

"Individual participant data meta-analyses are needed to confirm the overall result and identify subgroups that benefit the most from supplementation," concluded the authors. 

The study titled, "Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes in Patients With Prediabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis," is published in the journal Diabetes Care.

DOI: https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/43/7/1650