Level of Micronutrients Affects Pathophysiology of Diabetes Mellitus: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Currently, 463 million adults across the globe are living with diabetes. If undeterred, this figure is projected to rise to 700 million by 2045. About 79% of adult diabetics live in Africa; majority of whom are undiagnosed. Several interventions are already available, but the disease prevalence seems steady on an upward trajectory. The economic cost of managing diabetes is overwhelming considering that type II cases have overly and audaciously continues to rise. This underpins the need for exploration of more feasible and relatively inexpensive interventions. We profiled the role of micronutrients in the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus (DM). Findings from 10 studies published in highly refereed journals and indexed in Research Gate, PubMed, and Elsevier were synthesized, collated, and reported. Guidelines such as year of publication, conflict of interest, type of journal, research design among others, informed the process of study selection. The level of Selenium (Se) and Copper (Cu) was higher when HBA1C was higher. Further, the level of Mg, P, K, & Vitamin D correlated inversely with HBA1C. Some studies reported increased levels of Zinc (Zn) in DM subjects while others reported a decrease. Diabetes mellitus subjects should reduce intake of Se and Cu and increase intake of Mg, P, K, & Vitamin D.