Abstract
The question of whether or not correction of vitamin D deficiency might reduce the risks of later type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been under debate for many decades. The necessity of vitamin D for normal insulin secretion was first identified experimentally in the 1980s.
Highlights
The question of whether or not correction of vitamin D deficiency might reduce the risks of later type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been under debate for many decades
A six-month period of supplementation would only be likely to be maximally beneficial for those in the relatively early stages of beta cell damage. This view is supported by an observational Japanese study reporting on 27,000 subjects whose average age at baseline was 49 years old, followed between 2005 to 2016, that showed that even minor increases in baseline glycemia were clearly associated with increased risks of incident pre-diabetes or overt T2DM up to 20 years later
Re-assessments of RCT data for health benefits of vitamin D supplementation in deficiency, often using ‘individual participant data‘ retrieved from earlier studies, are demonstrating health benefits in many areas, including reductions in insulin resistance throughout the years of dysglycaemia that precede the development of overt T2DM and in T2DM itself as well as in blood pressure and mortality and these findings are supported by mechanistic evidence
Summary
The question of whether or not correction of vitamin D deficiency might reduce the risks of later type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been under debate for many decades. A huge step forward in the understanding of what causes T2DM, as compared to T1DM, came from Harold Himsworth who in 1939 gave the Goulstonian lectures on ‘The mechanism of Diabetes Mellitus’ at the Royal College of Physicians (London) in London, proposing that T2DM reflected “a diminished ability of the tissue to utilize glucose” due to an “insensitivity to insulin” and not just from a lack of insulin, “though both factors may operate together” [13,14,15,16] This appreciation of the pathophysiology of T2DM was repeated in another formal presentation to the RCP(Lond) in 1949 but only accepted as the underlying problem in T2DM by UK national bodies in 1979, 40 years after his original insight-full observations had been made known [17,18]. Since the 1980s it has been best known as the ‘Metabolic Syndrome’ [19,20]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
