Background
Some studies have described the relationship between autoimmune diabetes or
type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and vitamin D deficiency. Few studies correlate
between vitamin D deficiency and glycemic control.
Purpose
This study was conducted to appraise the status of vitamin D in adolescent and
young adult T1DM patients and to correlate its deficiency to glycated hemoglobin
(HbA1c).
Patients and methods
Around 63 Kuwaiti patients with T1DM were recruited in a descriptive crosssectional
study in April 2015. Serum level of vitamin D [25(OH)D] was
measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and glycemic control
was measured by HbA1c using autoanalyzer. The relationship between vitamin
D levels and HbA1c was analyzed by Spearman’s correlation. Among the
participants, 21 (33.3%) were male and 42 (66.7%) were female. The mean age
was 18.41±6.19, and the mean diabetes duration was 6.98±4.99. The mean vitamin
D concentration was 47.29±2.91 nmol/l, with 38.1% of participants identified to
have vitamin D deficiency and 19% identified to have vitamin D insufficiency. There
were high levels of HbA1c (10.08±2.28), with a significant inverse correlation
between HbA1c and vitamin D (r=−0.374 and P=0.003).
Conclusion
Low vitamin D in T1DM is extremely highly and closely correlated to HbA1c. We
recommend that evaluation of the level of vitamin D in type 1 diabetic patients is
very critical, and vitamin D supplementation may improve glycemic control.