Vitamin D supplementation improves blood sugar after knee surgery in elderly: Study

Switzerland: Vitamin D primarily known to promote bone mineralization has also been implicated as having a role in the development of diabetes. In the Past, large Mendelian randomization studies have indicated that genetically low Vitamin D levels are causal for an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.However, previous vitamin D supplementation trials have reported inconsistent results.

Researchers have found in a new study that Vitamin D supplementation over 2 years after unilateral knee replacement improved blood sugar control in older adults.However, there was no difference in fasting blood sugar or insulin sensitivity in older adults who received 800 versus 2000 IU of vitamin D. 

The new study has been published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. 

Heike A. Bischoff‐Ferrari, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, and colleagues investigated the effect of daily 800 vs. 2000 IU of vitamin D supplementation over 2 years on blood sugar control in older adults after unilateral knee replacement.

The researchers performed the Zurich Multiple Endpoint Vitamin D Trial in Knee OA Patients between 2008 and 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland. 251 participants were randomized to receive either 800 or 2000 IU vitamin D3 daily for 24 months.