Vitamin D and risk of metabolic syndrome

Emerging evidence suggests that vitamin D ( 25(OH)D) may play a role in the aetiology of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). However as there is limited prospective data available and inconsistent findings reported to date, Kayanyil et al. conducted a study with the objective of examining the association of baseline 25(OH)D with incident MetS after 3 years of follow-up in a well-characterized cohort at risk of the MetS.

Nondiabetic individuals with pre-existing MetS risk factors were recruited for participation in the PROspective Metabolism and ISlet cell Evaluation (PROMISE) cohort study, a longitudinal study of the determinants of insulin resistance and MetS. Their study found a 37% reduced risk of incident MetS per SD increase in baseline 25(OH)D after 3-years of follow-up. There was also a significant inverse association of baseline 25(OH)D with fasting glucose levels at follow-up.

This study supports a potential role for low 25(OH)D in the aetiology of the MetS, which may be partly driven by the association of 25(OH)D with glucose homoeostasis.

Read full article at Kayaniyil et al. (2014) Clinical Endocrinology 80; 502-507; DOI: 10.1111/cen.12190