Correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and Pre-diabetes in Arar, Saudi Arabia Vitamin D deficiency and pre-diabetes

Aim: Prediabetes is implicated in obesity, fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). This case-control study aimed at finding a correlation between vitamin D (VitD) deficiency and prediabetes. Material and Methods: Sixty participants (age >30 years) were selected. Thirty of them comprised of prediabetic subjects and thirty were normoglycemic healthy controls. The subjects suffering of kidney, heart, liver and autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and pregnancy were not included. Plasma VitD (measured as 25-hydroxycholecalciferol; 25-OH-VitD) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels were assessed immunometrically and colorimetrically, respectively. Results: The results showed that prediabetic subjects had significantly lower plasma levels of 25-OH-VitD (P = 0.000) compared to normoglycemic controls; where their median levels were 17.68 and 31.72 mmol/L, respectively with a strong negative correlation against FPG (r = -0.649, P = 0.000) and a high odds ratio (OR) of 4.078. Discussion: The study found a significant inverse correlation between plasma VitD and FPG levels in prediabetic subjects. The high OR for VitD deficiency in the normoglycemic and prediabetic participants suggests a strong possibility of a causal link between low plasma VitD levels and prediabetes, as major risk factor for T2DM.