Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with metabolic syndrome independent of insulin resistance and obesity in young adults ‐ The Berlin Aging Study II

Abstract

Purpose Age‐related changes affect vitamin D absorption and metabolism. Low 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentrations have been reported as risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, recent evaluations suggest this association might be explained by obesity or insulin resistance (IR) in subjects with MetS. Our aim was to analyze associations between vitamin D insufficiency and MetS in a young cohort without diabetes and two senior cohorts with and without diabetes. Methods Four hundred sixteen young and 1357 older BASE‐II participants were analyzed. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) was defined according to European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines, MetS as suggested by International Diabetes Federation/American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (IDF/AHA/NHLBI 2009). Vitamin D insufficiency was defined as 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentrations <50 nmol/L. Among other confounders, BMI and IR were taken into account. Results MetS was prevalent in 7.7% of the young and in 35.6% of the older BASE‐II participants and T2D occurred in 12.7% of the older participants. In young subjects without diabetes, vitamin D insufficiency was associated with an independent 3.2‐fold increased odds of having MetS (OR: 3.2 CI: 1.0–8.7; p = 0.042). However, in the older participants, this association was lost once BMI was taken into account among those with diabetes, and once IR was taken into account among those without diabetes. Conclusion Independent associations between vitamin D insufficiency and MetS were only found among young subjects without diabetes. In the older adults, BMI annihilated these associations among subjects without diabetes as did HOMA‐IR among subjects with diabetes.

Association of Serum 25(OH)D with Metabolic Syndrome in Chinese Women of Childbearing Age

“…Primarily, cross-sectional studies from different countries have shown the inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and the risk of developing MetS [ 20 , 42 , 43 ]. However, in Berlin, the independent inverse associations between vitamin D insufficiency and MetS among older adults without diabetes, could be removed by BMI [ 44 ]. Similarly, among non-diabetic young adults in Taiwan, the OR of having MetS was negatively associated with vitamin D levels after adjusting for age and sex.…”

Effects of dietary supplementation of fish oil plus vitamin D3 on gut microbiota and fecal metabolites, and their correlation with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease risk factors: a randomized controlled trial

“…41 Meanwhile, lower circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 levels were associated with an increased risk of IR, an independent risk factor of NAFLD. 42 In addition, a meta-analysis showed that fish oil combined with vitamin D could significantly improve NAFLD subjects. 43 Our results showed that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 levels were significantly increased in the FO + D group compared with the FO and CO groups.…”

COVID-19 and neurological sequelae: Vitamin D as a possible neuroprotective and/or neuroreparative agent

“…Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is more prevalent in African Americans, smokers, obese individuals, and people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and various gastroenterological disorders [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] . In COVID-19, the high-risk patients with the greatest complications and death rates are also those with a poor vitamin D status [13] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [68] , [69] , [70] .…”