Vitamin D Supplementation Does Not Reduce Risk for T2DM in Healthy Seniors
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Dec. 10, 2024 -- Vitamin D3 supplementation does not significantly reduce the risk for developing diabetes among older adults who are not at high risk for diabetes, according to a study published online Dec. 2 in Diabetologia.
Jyrki K. Virtanen, Ph.D., from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, and colleagues conducted a five-year randomized trial involving 2,271 male and female participants aged 60 years and older and 65 years and older, respectively, who were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer and did not use diabetes medications. Participants were randomly assigned to receive placebo, 1,600 IU/day of vitamin D3, or 3,200 IU/day vitamin D3 (760, 744, and 767 participants, respectively).
The researchers identified 38 (5.0 percent), 31 (4.2 percent), and 36 (4.7 percent) type 2 diabetes events in the placebo, 1,600-IU/day, and 3,200-IU/day vitamin D3 groups, respectively. The hazard ratio was not significant when the two vitamin D3 arms were combined and compared with the placebo arm. The hazard ratios in the combined vitamin D3 arms versus placebo were not significant in analyses stratified by body mass index (BMI). In a subcohort of 504 participants with a mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentration of 74.5 nmol/L at baseline, there were no differences seen in changes in plasma glucose or insulin concentrations, BMI, or waist circumference during 24 months of follow-up.
"Our findings do not suggest benefits of long-term moderate- or high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation for incidence of type 2 diabetes or glucose metabolism or body size among generally healthy older vitamin D-sufficient men and women who were not at high risk for type 2 diabetes," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and nutrition industries.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted December 2024
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