Association of vitamin D₂ and D₃ with type 2 diabetes complications

<h3>Aims</h3><p dir="ltr">Vitamin D measurement is a composite of vitamin D₂ (25(OH)D₂) and D₃ (25(OH)D₃) levels, and its deficiency is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and diabetic complications; vitamin D deficiency may be treated with vitamin D₂ supplements. This study was undertaken to determine if vitamin D₂ and D₃ levels differed between those with and without T2DM in this Middle Eastern population, and the relationship between diabetic microvascular complications and vitamin D₂ and vitamin D₃ levels in subjects with T2DM.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p dir="ltr">Four hundred ninety-six Qatari subjects, 274 with and 222 without T2DM participated in the study. Plasma levels of total vitamin D₂ and D₃ were measured by LC-MS/MS analysis.</p><h3>Results</h3><p dir="ltr">All subjects were taking vitamin D₂ and none were taking D₃ supplements. Vitamin D₂ levels were higher in diabetics, particularly in females, and higher levels were associated with hypertension and dyslipidemia in the diabetic subjects (p < 0.001), but were not related to diabetic retinopathy or nephropathy. Vitamin D₃ levels measured in the same subjects were lower in diabetics, particularly in females (p < 0.001), were unrelated to dyslipidemia or hypertension, but were associated with retinopathy (p < 0.014). Neither vitamin D₂ nor vitamin D₃ were associated with neuropathy. For those subjects with hypertension, dyslipidemia, retinopathy or neuropathy, comparison of highest with lowest tertiles for vitamin D₂ and vitamin D₃ showed no difference.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p dir="ltr">In this Qatari cohort, vitamin D₂ was associated with hypertension and dyslipidemia, whilst vitamin D₃ levels were associated with diabetic retinopathy. Vitamin D₂ levels were higher, whilst vitamin D₃ were lower in diabetics and females, likely due to ingestion of vitamin D₂ supplements.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: BMC Endocrine Disorders<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12902-020-00549-w" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12902-020-00549-w</a></p>