Endocrine Abstracts

Diabetes type two and Vitamin D deficiency has stirred a great interest recently due to rising prevalence globally. Currently, diabetes is one of the largest and fast growing non- communicable disease of the 21st Century with a close to a half a billion people living with diabetes globally. Vitamin D is a fat- soluble vitamin that is also referred to as the “sunshine vitamin” is an essential vitamin for humans. It is found in two forms: ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) which is derived from plant sterol ergosterol and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) is synthesised in the skin from 7-dehydrocholesterol under the influence of Ultra-Violet (UV) light. Recent studies have found Vitamin D receptors (VDR) in almost all tissues. This has led to interesting studies that have associated Vitamin D as an immune modulator. The spiked interest in this vitamin has led to some researchers referring to this vitamin as a prohormone due to its extensive benefits, both skeletal and non-skeletal. Hypovitaminosis D has been associated with impaired glycaemic control in patients with type two diabetes. This was the first systematic analysis that assessed the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in persons with type two diabetes. Several studies have looked at different supplementation of vitamin D focusing on improvement of glycaemic control. This systematic analysis evaluated the different dose regimes of vitamin D supplementation including the different outcomes. Out of 107 studies identified through data search, 11 studies with 2,637 participants with diabetic type two were selected for analysis of the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency. The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was between 23% to 98.11%, with majority of the studies demonstrating a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis. Regimens using treatment dose of Vitamin D for treating deficiency either as a single or daily dose demonstrated positive outcomes.