Vitamin D Deficiency Rampant in Large Population of Kids with Type 1 Diabetes

A recent study examined the association between vitamin D and diabetes control in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, stressing the importance of vitamin D screening.

During the study, researchers recruited 200 children and adolescents from the Diabetes Center for Children at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Non-fasting blood samples were collected in order to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D and blood glucose levels. HbA1c and other key variables were abstracted from participants’ medical records.

The result of the study, published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, showed the high prevalence of patients with low levels 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

The prevalence was found mostly in healthy weight and Caucasian children, and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, all considered patients who were previously considered low risk or no risk at all of having low levels of vitamin D.

The data suggests the importance of vitamin D screenings for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

“To our knowledge this is the first study that has been adequately-powered to examine the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D and HbA1c (a measure of diabetes control) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes,” said senior study author Terri Lipman, PhD, CRNP, FAAN. “These data suggest the need for monitoring of vitamin D in all youth with this disorder.”