Low Level of Serum Vitamin D is Associated with Elevated Fasting Glucose and Prediabetes in Kuwait Adults

Abstract

The incidence of diabetes is increasing rapidly in countries of the Arabian Gulf, possibly due to changes in lifestyle and food intake patterns. Recent evidence from some trials in non‐Gulf regions suggests vitamin D homeostasis may play an important role in the etiology of type 2 diabetes. New data that have recently become available from the Kuwait National Nutrition Survey (KNNS) provide further evidence for a role of vitamin D in glucose homeostasis. Here we examined serum levels of 25‐ hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in association with fasting glucose and diabetes in 1,021 adults from KNNS. Vitamin D deficiency (<10 ng/ml) and insufficiency (10–19.9 ng/ml) was observed in 27% and 56% respectively (median serum 25 (OH)D = 13.8 ng/ml). Low serum level of 25(OH)D was associated with high levels of fasting glucose (log‐transformed) (ß=0.02, 95%CI: −0.01, 0.06 for 25 (OH)D 10–19.9 vs. =20ng/ml; ß=0.05, 95%CI: 0.003, 0.09 for 25(OH)D <10 vs. =20ng/ml; P trend =0.04). Low 25(OH)D levels were not associated with high prevalence of diabetes but with 60–80% increased prevalence of prediabetes (OR=1.6, 95%CI: 1.0, 2.6 for 25(OH)D 10–19 vs. =20ng/ml; OR=1.8, 95%CI: 1.0, 3.0 for 25(OH)D <10 vs. =20ng/ml; P trend =0.05). Our findings suggest that a large proportion of Kuwaiti adults have vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, and low vitamin D status is associated with high levels of fasting glucose and high prevalence of prediabetes.