Daily intake of a vitamin D-fortified yogurt drink, either with or without added calcium, improved glycemic status in T2D patients. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01229891.

BackgroundEndothelial dysfunction has been proposed as the underlying cause of diabetic angiopathy that eventually leads to cardiovascular disease, the major cause of death in diabetes. We recently demonstrated the ameliorating effect of regular vitamin D intake on the glycemic status of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this study, the effects of improvement of vitamin D status on glycemic status, lipid profile and endothelial biomarkers in T2D subjects were investigated.MethodsSubjects with T2D were randomly allocated to one of the two groups to receive either plain yogurt drink (PYD; containing 170 mg calcium and no vitamin D/250 mL, n1 = 50) or vitamin D3-fortified yogurt drink (FYD; containing 170 mg calcium and 500 IU/250 mL, n2 = 50) twice a day for 12 weeks. Anthropometric measures, glycemic status, lipid profile, body fat mass (FM) and endothelial biomarkers including serum endothelin-1, E-selectin and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 were evaluated at the beginning and after the 12-week intervention period.ResultsThe intervention resulted in a significant improvement in fasting glucose, the Quantitative Insulin Check Index (QUICKI), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triacylglycerols, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), endothelin-1, E-selectin and MMP-9 in FYD compared to PYD (P < 0.05, for all). Interestingly, difference in changes of endothelin-1, E-selectin and MMP-9 concentrations in FYD compared to PYD (-0.35 ± 0.63 versus -0.03 ± 0.55, P = 0.028; -3.8 ± 7.3 versus 0.95 ± 8.3, P = 0.003 and -2.3 ± 3.7 versus 0.44 ± 7.1 ng/mL, respectively, P < 0.05 for all), even after controlling for changes of QUICKI, FM and waist circumference, remained significant for endothelin-1 and MMP-9 (P = 0.009 and P = 0.005, respectively) but disappeared for E-selectin (P = 0.092). On the contrary, after controlling for serum 25(OH)D, the differences disappeared for endothelin-1(P = 0.066) and MMP-9 (P = 0.277) but still remained significant for E-selectin (P = 0.011).ConclusionsAmeliorated vitamin D status was accompanied by improved glycemic status, lipid profile and endothelial biomarkers in T2D subjects. Our findings suggest both direct and indirect ameliorating effects of vitamin D on the endothelial biomarkers.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01236846

Improvement of vitamin D status of T2D subjects resulted in amelioration of the systemic inflammatory markers. This may have preventive implications against cardiovascular disease and other diabetic complications.

Daily intake of vitamin D-fortified doogh improved inflammatory markers in T2D subjects, and extra calcium conferred additional benefit only for the antiinflammatory adipokine, i.e. adiponectin.

Objective: To assess the vitamin D status of 9-12-year-old primary-school children in Tehran during autumn and winter [2007][2008]. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting: Primary schools of Tehran city, Iran. Subjects: A total of 1111 children aged 9-12 years (573 boys and 538 girls) from sixty primary schools were enrolled in the study. Weight, height, BMI and serum levels of Ca, P, Mg, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), osteocalcin and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase of all the participants were assessed. Dietary Ca intake was also evaluated using a quantitative FFQ for a subsample of the study population (n 503). Vitamin D sufficiency was defined on the basis of serum levels of 25(OH)D as either $37 nmol/l (criterion 1) or $50 nmol/l (criterion 2).

OBJECTIVEInterpopulation as well as interindividual variations in response to vitamin D intake commonly observed in subjects with type 2 diabetes may be related to genetic makeup. One of the candidate genes potentially responsible for this diversity is vitamin D receptor (VDR). This study aimed to investigate the interactive effect of VDR Fok-I polymorphism and vitamin D intake on diverse aspects of diabetic host response.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSGlycemic status, lipid profiles, inflammatory biomarkers, and VDR Fok-I genotypes were determined in diabetic subjects (n = 140) who participated in a randomized controlled trial. Participants consumed two 250-mL bottles per day of yogurt drink (doogh) fortified with 500 IU vitamin D/250 mL for 12 weeks.RESULTSMean serum 25(OH)D increased by ~30 nmol/L (P < 0.001). The time × intervention effect was significant for 25(OH)D (P = 0.030), HDL (P = 0.011), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) (P < 0.001), interleukin (IL)-4 (P = 0.008), and IL-6 (P = 0.017) among the genotypic groups. The alleles were defined as ‘‘F’’ or ‘‘f’’ depending on the absence or presence of the restriction site, respectively. The least increment in 25(OH)D was in ff (23.0 ± 3.8 nmol/L) compared with Ff (31.2 ± 3.4 nmol/L) and FF (35.6 ± 2.7 nmol/L) (P for trend = 0.009), but only the difference between ff and FF was significant (P = 0.023). FF group had the largest decrement of both hsCRP and IL-6 compared with Ff (P < 0.001 and P = 0.038) and ff (P = 0.010 and P = 0.048), respectively.CONCLUSIONSWe concluded that those of VDR ff genotype may be regarded as “low responders” to vitamin D intake in terms of response of circulating 25(OH)D and certain inflammatory biomarkers. A nutrigenetic approach may, therefore, be needed to protect diabetic patients from vitamin D deficiency.

Lycopene, probably by increasing TAC and inhibiting MDA-LDL formation, may attenuate T cell-dependent adaptive (pro-atherogenic) immune response. Meanwhile, with enhancement of innate immunity and hence prevention of ox-LDL uptake by macrophage and foam cell formation, lycopene may be effective in prevention of long-term diabetic complications, notably cardiovascular disease.

Despite having double amount of vitamin D and being more effective in raising serum 25(OH)D, supplementation did not confer additional benefit in terms of osteocalcin and intact parathyroid hormone compared to either fortified or plain milk.