Vitamin D may lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Vitamin D supplements might slightly lower the risk of type 2 diabetes for people with prediabetes, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from the Tufts Medical Center in Massachusetts completed a review and meta-analysis of three clinical trials looking at the impact of vitamin D on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The scientists looked for studies that included adults who took 4,000 IU of vitamin D supplements with a three-year follow-up.

They ended up with 2,097 participants who took vitamin D supplements and 2,093 who received a placebo.

The researchers extrapolated the numbers into a 15 percent decrease in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes for the participants taking vitamin D supplementation.

The researchers pointed out that vitamin D supplements could be an inexpensive way to delay type 2 diabetes in more than 10 million people worldwide with prediabetes.

Extrapolating their findings to account for the estimated 374 million adultsTrusted Source worldwide who have prediabetes, the researchers pointed out that vitamin D supplements could be an inexpensive way to delay type 2 diabetes in more than 10 million people.

The researchers noted that a decrease of 15% is lower than other type 2 prevention strategies. Intensive lifestyle modifications can lower the risk by 58% and Metformin can reduce the risk by 31%.

The supplements were generally well-tolerated.

Adverse events included kidney stones as well as high levels of calcium in the urine or blood, but the incidence rate for all was rare and there was no significant difference between the participant groups.

Source: Healthline

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