Objective: To investigate vitamin D status and its association with components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescent girls attending high school in Boukan, Iran during winter 2012. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: High schools of Boukan city, Iran. Subjects: A sample of 216 girls aged 14-17 years was selected by multistage random sampling from four districts of Boukan. Weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, daily energy intake, physical activity and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), fasting blood glucose, TAG and HDL-cholesterol levels of all participants were evaluated. Serum 25(OH)D level ,20 ng/ml was defined as vitamin D deficiency. Results: Mean serum 25(OH)D was 7?26 (SD 2?81) ng/ml and 96 % of the participants had vitamin D deficiency. According to age-modified definitions of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III, MetS was diagnosed in 10?6 % of the participants. In multivariable regression analysis after adjustment for BMI, energy intake and physical activity level, serum 25(OH)D was inversely associated with fasting blood glucose (b 5 20?143, P 5 0?04). No significant relationship was found between serum 25(OH)D and other components of MetS. Conclusions: The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency warrants national polices and interventions towards improving this major health problem among adolescent girls. Low 25(OH)D level was significantly associated with increased fasting blood glucose. Prospective studies are needed to determine the effects of vitamin D deficiency on the development of MetS and related metabolic diseases in adolescent girls. Keywords Vitamin D Prevalence Metabolic syndrome Adolescent girlsVitamin D deficiency is a major public health problem and an unrecognizable condition of epidemic proportions in both developed and developing countries, with widespread reports of 30-93 % prevalence in children and adults (1)(2)(3) . Determination of vitamin D status in different age groups in a community and in different climates of a country is necessary and has important implications for general health. Recent studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency is no longer just a problem of the older generations but also is an important health concern among younger generations (4) . Studies in the last two decades have shown a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in healthy adolescents in different countries (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15) . In Iran, Razzaghy-Azar and Shakiba and Moussavi et al. reported that 67 % of female children and adolescents in Tehran and 72?1 % of teenage girls in Isfahan had vitamin D deficiency, with higher rates of deficiency in girls than boys (16,17) . Vitamin D is known as the 'sunshine vitamin' because the mean exposure to sunlight should be sufficient for most people to produce their own vitamin D using UV light and cholesterol in the skin (18) . Whenever sun exposure is insufficient, dietary intake of this vitamin becomes a necessity. However, there are few dietary sources of vitamin D...

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Purpose Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a worldwide health problem. Blood pressure (BP) and inflammation are well-established risk factors for the cardiovascular complications of T2DM. Genistein is known to improve endothelial dysfunction. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of genistein supplementation on BP, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and homocysteine (Hcy) levels in postmenopausal women with T2DM. Design/methodology/approach This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial is conducted on postmenopausal women with T2DM. A total of 54 subjects aged between 47 and 69 years are divided into two groups. Participants in the genistein group (n = 28) are given two genistein capsules (each capsule contained 54 mg genistein) and those in the placebo group (n = 26) received two placebo capsules (each capsule contained 54 mg maltodextrin) daily for 12 weeks. General characteristics, BP, hs-CRP and Hcy levels are measured at the baseline and at the end of the trial. Findings Genistein supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in systolic BP (SBP) (p < 0.001), diastolic BP (DBP) (p = 0.020), mean arterial pressure (MAP) (p < 0.001), serum levels of hs-CRP (p = 0.005) and Hcy (p = 0.001) in genistein group compared with placebo group at the end of the study. Significant decreases are also found in SBP by 5.4%, p < 0.001, DBP by 6.7%, p < 0.001, MAP by 6.2%, p < 0.001, serum levels of hs-CRP by 47.0%, p = 0.015 and Hcy by 18.4%, p < 0.001 in the genistein supplemented group. No significant changes are observed in terms of all post-intervention values in the placebo group. Originality/value Genistein administration improved BP, hs-CRP and Hcy levels in postmenopausal women with T2DM and may be useful in control of some CVD risk factors in these subjects.