Association between Vitamin D Level and Microvascular Complications in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to further investigate the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, as well as the association between hypovitaminosis D and the microvascular complications of type 2 (T2) DM. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, case-control study of 206 T2DM patients and 34 healthy control subjects. Participants were evaluated for the presence of diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy. Results: The level of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) was significantly lower in the T2DM patients (11.16 +/- 3.99 ng/mL vs. 15.58 +/- 3.16 ng/mL; p<0.05). Furthermore, 2.7% of the patients were found to have retinopathy (n=53), 3.6% had neuropathy (n=65), and 29.1% of the patients had microalbuminuria (n=60). Although serum 25(OH) D levels were significantly lower in the presence of retinopathy and neuropathy (p<0.05 for both), no significant association between Vitamin D level and microalbuminuria was found. Conclusion: An inverse relationship between the circulating 25(OH) D level and the prevalence of retinopathy and neuropathy in T2DM patients was determined. However, there was no significant association between microalbuminuria and the 25(OH) D level.