Investigating the relationship between vitamin-D deficiency and glycemia status and lipid profile in nondiabetics and prediabetics in Saudi population

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of developing diabetes, dyslipidemia, and other chronic diseases. We aimed to investigate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency, glycemic levels, and lipid profiles in individuals with prediabetes and nondiabetes. This observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 249 adults who were divided into 2 groups based on the American Diabetes Association classification: nondiabetics and prediabetics. The serum vitamin D levels, lipid profiles, fasting blood glucose levels, hemoglobin A1c levels, fasting insulin levels, and insulin resistance (IR) were evaluated. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in all participants was 30.9%, and mean vitamin D levels were significantly [P = .0004] lower in prediabetics, who were more common in females. Furthermore, prediabetics had significantly higher serum triglycerides [P = .0006], and significantly lower serum high-density lipoprotein levels [P = .0148] than those nondiabetics. Serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. 31.4% of all participants were overweight and 40.2% were obese. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between vitamin D levels and IR and body mass indices ≥ 25 in prediabetics [r = −0.92] [P < .001]. Finally, vitamin D levels had a significant inverse relationship with glycemic parameters and IR, particularly in obese participants, but there was no significant relationship with lipid profile. In conclusion, vitamin D deficiency is common in females, regardless of whether they are prediabetics, but is more prevalent in prediabetics. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with high triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein levels, but there were no significant changes in total cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein levels. Furthermore, vitamin D levels were negatively correlated with both fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels, and its deficiency was strongly associated with IR especially in obese patients despite there being no significant correlation with blood lipids.

Vitamin D and Dyslipidemia: Is There Really a Link? A Narrative Review

“…HDL-C was lower and TGs were higher in the hypovitaminosis D group [ 21 ]. Similar positive associations have been observed in numerous other studies conducted across various populations [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. A recent cross-sectional study confirmed that the percentage of individuals with dyslipidemia and dysglycemia was higher in subjects with low levels of vitamin D [ 33 ].…”

Effect of vitamin D supplementation on glycemic control in type 1 diabetes mellitus

“…In Table 1, 3.3% of the patients were obese and 36.7% were overweight. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health discovered in a recent study that Americans with type 1 diabetes were or overweight at almost the same high rates as those without the disease [27,28].…”