Is the Association between Vitamin D and Metabolic Syndrome Independent of Other Micronutrients?

Abstract

The incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been increasing globally and it is recognized as a major public health problem because MetS is associated with increased risk of diabetes, stroke, cancer, and other chronic diseases. Recently, MetS has been linked to vitamin D deficiency. However, the evidence on the association between vitamin D deficiency and the risk of MetS remains inconclusive. This review therefore aims to depict the existing evidence related to MetS and vitamin D deficiency, and examined some of the possible confounders which may affect the association between vitamin D status and risk of MetS. Earlier studies on the association between vitamin D deficiency and MetS have adjusted for the effect of some confounders including, age, sex, body mass index, race, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and energy intake. However, these studies failed to consider other potential confounders. There is evidence that vitamin A, zinc (Zn), and magnesium (Mg) play important roles in the activation and function of vitamin D and interact with gene expression. Furthermore, these micronutrients are also related to several components of the MetS including glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia, and obesity. Thus, there could be an interaction between these micronutrients, vitamin D, and MetS. This review highlights the possible interactions of vitamin A, Zn, Mg, and vitamin D with MetS and its components. The findings reinforce the need for further well-designed studies that take into account all potential confounders, including other micronutrients such as vitamin A, Zn, and Mg status, to investigate the independent association of vitamin D status with MetS and its components, and also to scrutinize for possible interactions among other nutrients which may have similar confounding effects.

Prevalencia De Síndrome Metabólico en Niños Y Adolescentes De América

“…La ingesta calórica alta, el bajo contenido vitamínico y mineral de los alimentos consumidos favorecen la aparición de alteraciones metabólicas a edad temprana. La deficiencia de vitaminas A y D, zinc (Zn), y magnesio (Mg) han sido un factor de riesgo asociado al SM y alteraciones metabólicas en niños y adolescentes 38,48 . Cambios en la dieta son particularmente importantes para muchos países de América latina, porque favorecen el sobrepeso y la obesidad.…”

Prevalence and Predictors of Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency among Pregnant Rural Women in Bangladesh

“…One possible explanation for the present finding is that vitamin A plays a key role in signalling the vitamin D pathway. There has been a suggestion that 9-cis-retinoic acid, an active vitamin A metabolite, and the ligand of retinoid X receptor, form a heterodimer complex with vitamin D receptor (VDR), which helps VDR signalling and suppresses the degradation of circulating vitamin D [ 59 , 60 ].…”

Association between vitamin D status and metabolic syndrome in a longitudinal study of Iranian adults

“…We also considered covariates affecting serum vitamin D levels, like dietary sources of vitamin D and the season, as well as factors influencing the development of MetS, such as age, sex, physical activity, family history of diseases, baseline metabolic risk factors, and smoking in our analysis. Of note, in a recently published review article, we inferred that there might be an interaction between other micronutrients, such as vitamin A, zinc and magnesium and vitamin D, as well as MetS which may affect the association between vitamin D status and MetS [ 62]. Unfortunately, in the present study, we do not have any information about other micronutrients.…”