How Does Vitamin D Affect Your Risk of Type 1 Diabetes?

According to researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), if your body has the right amount of vitamin D during young adulthood, you may reduce your risk of adult-onset type 1 diabetes by as much as 50%. If this is confirmed with further studies, something as simple as vitamin D supplementation could improve the wellbeing of thousands of people, preventing this serious autoimmune disease in adults.

The study, which was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is the strongest one to date to provide evidence that vitamin D may be protective against type 1 diabetes. According to lead author Kassandra Munger, research associate in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH, ‘It is surprising that a serious disease such as type 1 diabetes could perhaps be prevented by a simple and safe intervention.’

For their study, the researchers examined the blood samples of US military personnel on active duty. These samples were attained from the Department of Defence Serum Repository, which contains more than 40 million samples collected from 8 million military personnel since the mid-1980s. The team identified 310 individuals whose wellness had been affected by type 1 diabetes between 1997 and 2009, and compared their samples with those of 613 people in a control group.

The results showed that white, non-Hispanic, healthy young adults with higher serum levels (>75 nmol/L) of vitamin D had about half the risk of developing type 1 diabetes than those with the lowest levels of vitamin D (<75 nmol/L). There was no significant association found among Hispanics and blacks, but the authors said this may be due to the small number of individuals in these groups.

Alberto Ascherio, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at HSPH and the study’s senior author, commented, ‘The risk of type 1 diabetes appears to be increased even at vitamin D levels that are commonly regarded as normal, suggesting that a substantial proportion of the population could benefit from increased vitamin D intake.’ However, the authors added, ‘Whereas it is premature to recommend universal use of vitamin D supplements for prevention of type 1 diabetes, the possibility that many cases could be prevented by supplementation with 1,000-4,000 IU/day, which is largely considered safe, is enticing.’

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How Does Vitamin D Affect Your Risk of Type 1 Diabetes?

Categories: Diabetes, type 1, Vitamin D

Worrying Rise in Diabetes in Pre-5s Baffles Medical World

Incidences of type 1 diabetes are continuing to rise in children under the age of five, an increase that is baffling medical experts. Type 1 diabetes typically occurs in children and requires insulin injections to regulate the blood glucose levels. When left untreated, diabetes can be fatal.

A US study has demonstrated that the number of cases of diabetes in the under 5s that require insulin injections have risen sharply in two decades. The research, carried out in Philadelphia by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and published in the journal Diabetes Care, updated a registry of children with type 1 diabetes that was first started in 1985.

The figures revealed that cases of insulin-requiring type 1 diabetes in the under 5s rose by 70% with the number of cases in children aged up to 14 had also risen by 29%.

The study concluded that it could find no explanation for the big increase in cases, which matches similar rises elsewhere in the US and in Europe.

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions with an estimated 347 million people worldwide suffering from the disease in which the body either does not produce enough insulin or cannot properly process and use the insulin it does produce.

There are two common forms of diabetes – type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes was formerly referred to as juvenile diabetes because it occurs first in childhood and requires insulin injections to control glucose levels. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease and typically strikes in adults who are still producing insulin but whose bodies cannot use it effectively. Typ2 diabetes can be controlled through medication, diet and exercise.

While the cause of the sharp increase in type 1 diabetes in the under 5s is not yet known, there have been some suggestions as to what might be causing the immune system to go awry, including a lack of vitamin D, overly hygienic environments and a failure to breastfeed.

Symptoms to look for in a small child are extreme thirst, bed-wetting and excessively wet nappies in babies and toddlers.

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Worrying Rise in Diabetes in Pre-5s Baffles Medical World

Categories: Children, Diabetes, type 1