Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (Jun 2019)
Vitamin D deficiency and glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Jazan City, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Hussain Darraj,1 Mohammed Badedi,1 Kirsten R Poore,2 Abdulrahman Hummadi,1 Abdullah Khawaji,1 Yahia Solan,3 Ibrahim Zakri,1 Abdullah Sabai,1 Majid Darraj,4 Dhayf Alrahman Mutawwam,1 Mohammed Daghreeri,1 Safaa Sayed,1 Wael Alaallah,1 Abdulaziz Alfadhly,5 Abdullah Alsabaani61Jazan Health Affairs, Ministry of Health, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 2Institute of Development Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; 3Medical Affairs, Jazan University Hospital, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 5Diabetic Center, Prince Mansour Military Hospital, Taif, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi ArabiaBackground: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is predicted to be high in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the exact figure is not known in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Emerging data suggests that VDD plays a role in glycemic control. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of VDD among T2DM patients and to investigate its association with patients’ characteristics and glycemic control in Jazan.Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study which recruited 309 patients with T2DM randomly from primary health care centers in Jazan. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the VDD predictors and to examine the association of VDD and glycemic control.Results: The VDD prevalence was found to be 60.8% in patients with T2DM. Age, gender, diabetic retinopathy (DR), dyslipidemia, glycemic control, and obesity were significantly associated with VDD, and all except obesity were independent predictors of VDD. There was a significant negative correlation between 25-hydroxyvitamin D and HbA1c. VDD was a significant independent predictor of poor glycemic control after adjustment for hypertension, DR, diabetic neuropathy, type of diabetes medication, diabetes duration, and education level.Conclusion: In this Saudi Arabian population, VDD is highly prevalent in people with T2DM and is associated with poor glycemic control. Health education targeting patients with T2DM and national strategies regarding vitamin D fortification are needed to prevent VDD in Saudi Arabia. Earlier VDD diagnosis by health care providers may help to improve the outcome for patients with T2DM. Establishing the causal association between VDD and glycemic control and clarifying the biological role of vitamin D in T2DM are important aims for future studies.Keywords: diabetes mellitus, T2DM, vitamin D deficiency, VDD, glycemic control, diabetes complication