The role of vitamin D in protecting type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The relationship between autoimmune diabetes or type 1 diabetes mellitus and vitamin D has been reported in the literature. Many factors, environmental and genetic, have been known, as risk factors, to cause both type 1 diabetes and vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D treatment has improved or prevented type 1 diabetes mellitus in animals and humans. Vitamin D also has been known to protect from autoimmune diseases in animal models. Therefore, it would be interesting to review the role of vitamin D in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Impact of Lifestyle and Dietary Habits on Hypovitaminosis D in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Healthy Children from Qatar, a Sun-Rich Country

“…Epidemiological studies suggest a link between vitamin D deficiency in early life and the later onset of type 1 diabetes [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] . Furthermore, investigators from several epidemiological studies have reported that dietary vitamin D supplementation during infancy and childhood reduces the risk of type 1 diabetes [18] .…”

UVB and Vitamin D in Psoriasis

“…Vitamin D has a wide range of effects on the immune system: it promotes the differentiation of monocytes into macrophages thus increasing their cytotoxic activity; reduces the antigenpresenting activity of macrophages to lymphocytes; prevents dendritic cell maturation; inhibits T lymphocyte-mediated immunoglobulin synthesis in B cells and inhibits delayedtype hypersensitivity reactions (8,133,134). Furthermore vitamin D has been reported to down-regulate the production of several cytokines: IL-2, IL-6 and IL-12, interferon-, TNF-, and TNF- (134,135).…”

Prevalence of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms FokI and BsmI in Brazilian individuals with type 1 diabetes and their relation to β-cell autoimmunity and to remaining β-cell function

“…Epidemiologic evidence suggests a seasonal variation in T1DM incidence, with the largest proportion of cases diagnosed in the fall and winter and the lowest during the summer [18]. Recently, Mohr et al [19] described an association between high ultraviolet B radiation and low incidence of T1DM.…”