Abstract
Previous studies have revealed that diabetic patients have a decline in immunity and an increased risk of infections, and this may be associated with poor micronutrient status. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of dietary supplements on risk of infection in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. One hundred patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly assigned to receive an oral dose of daily B-group vitamins and antioxidant vitamins (n = 50) or an identical placebo (n = 50) daily for 90 days. Patients had baseline, three and 12 month assessment for nutritional status, fruits and vegetables intake, physical activity and self-reported infections. Supplementation with antioxidants and B-group vitamins significantly increased the plasma concentration of vitamin E and folate and reduced homocysteine in the intervention group (p-values were 0.006, 0.001 and 0.657, respectively). The number of infections reported by the treatment group after three months of supplements was less than that reported by the placebo group, 9 (27%) vs. 15 (36%) (p = 0.623). Corresponding numbers of infections at 12 months were 25 (67.5%) and 27 (56.3%), respectively (p = 0.488). Up to 90% of the diabetic patients were either overweight or obese with a sedentary life style, and their body weight increased further during three months of follow up. The study showed that multivitamin supplements improved vitamin blood concentrations; however, this did not reduce the number of infections in diabetic patients.
Highlights
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) society has been through rapid socioeconomic and social changes with urbanization over the last 40 years
This study aimed to study the effect of antioxidants and B-group vitamins on the risk of infections in a community of free living patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Patients were randomly assigned to receive a capsule of antioxidant vitamins (221 mg of α-tocopherol and 167 mg of vitamin C) and B-group vitamins (1.67 mg folic acid, 1.67 mg vitamin B-2, 20 mg vitamin B-6, 0.134 mg vitamin B-12) or an identical placebo daily for 90 days
Summary
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) society has been through rapid socioeconomic and social changes with urbanization over the last 40 years. In animal and in vitro studies, the host’s immune functions were reported to be disturbed by short- or long-term hyperglycemia, including neutrophil bactericidal function [3], cellular immunity [4] and complement activation [5]. These defects in the immune system, along with vascular insufficiency, render diabetic patients at higher risk for a variety of severe or invasive infections, such as pyogenic bacterial infections, necrotizing infections, Candida infections or other fungi infections [6,7]. A number of studies have reported alteration in micronutrient status, notably ascorbic acid and B vitamins, and in some of these studies, deficiency of certain micronutrients have been associated with the presence of diabetic complications, including infections [9]
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