Both youth and long-term vitamin D status is associated with risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adulthood: a cohort study

Abstract

<p>Objectives: To determine whether vitamin D status in childhood and adolescence (herein collectively<br />referred to as youth) and the long-term status from youth to adulthood is associated<br />with risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in<br />adulthood.<br />Materials and methods: This was a 31-year follow-up study of 2300 participants aged 3–18<br />years. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the association of both (a) baseline 25-<br />hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels and (b) the mean of baseline and the latest follow-up 25OHD<br />levels (continuous variable and quartiles) with incident T2DM and IFG (cut-off¼5.6mmol/L) in<br />adult life.<br />Results: High serum 25OHD levels in youth and also mean values from youth to adulthood<br />were associated with reduced risk of developing T2DM in adulthood (odds ratio, 95% confidence<br />interval¼0.73, 0.57–0.95 and 0.65, 0.51–0.84, respectively, for each SD increment in 25OHD).<br />Compared to Q1, a dose-dependent negative association was observed across other quartiles of<br />youth 25OHD, while the strongest association was found in the Q3 for the mean 25OHD levels.<br />Neither youth nor the mean 25OHD was associated with IFG.<br />Conclusions: High serum 25OHD levels in youth, and from child to adult life, were associated<br />with a reduced risk of developing T2DM in adulthood.</p><p>KEY MESSAGES<br />High serum 25OHD levels in youth, and between youth and adulthood, were associated with<br />a lower risk of T2DM in adulthood.<br />Each SD (15.2 nmol/L) increment in youth serum 25OHD levels was associated with a 26%<br />reduction in odds for T2DM, which was independent of a number of confounding variables<br />and other risk factors for T2DM. A similar magnitude of association was observed for the<br />long-term 25OHD levels between youth and adulthood.<br />These findings suggest a potentially simple and cost-effective strategy for reducing adulthood<br />risk of T2DM starting in an earlier stage of life – improving and maintaining vitamin D status<br />throughout youth and early adulthood.<br /></p>