Vitamin D and its relation to metabolic profile in type 1 diabetic patients from Gaza Strip

Background: Recent research indicated the involvement of vitamin D in the pathophysiology of type 1 diabetes. In this study, we investigated serum vitamin D status and its relation to metabolic profile in type 1 diabetic patients from Gaza Strip. Methods: This study was a case-control design and included 44 type 1 diabetic patients as well as 44 non-diabetic controls. Patients and controls were matched for age, gender and body mass index (BMI). Data were obtained from questionnaire interview, and biochemical analysis of blood samples. Results: Serum vitamin D was significantly lower in diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic controls (34.1 ± 19.1 versus 43.9 ± 16.9 ng/dl, P=0.012). The number of patients having vitamin D deficient, insufficient and sufficient were 5 (11.4%), 20 (45.5%) and 19 (43.2%) compared to controls of 0 (0.0%), 13 (29.5%) and 31 (70.5%), respectively ( χ 2 (corrected) =6.711, P=0.035). Serum glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum insulin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly higher in patients than in controls whereas serum calcium was significantly lower in patients. Serum vitamin D showed significant negative correlations with HbA1c (r=-0.258, P=0.015), insulin (r=-0.257, P=0.016) and LDL-C (r=- 0.281, P=0.008) whereas significant positive correlation was found with calcium (r=0.251, P=0.018). Conclusion: The relationship of vitamin D with HbA1c, LDL-C and calcium suggests that vitamin D and/or calcium system may represent a future target for the design of novel therapeutic strategies for patients with type 1 Diabetes.