Investigating the Association between Diabetic Neuropathy and Vitamin D in Emirati Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

(1) Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a common public health problem in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and globally, and interestingly, improvements in diabetic neuropathy after taking Vitamin D supplementation for a short time have been reported. Despite living in a country that is sunny all year round, hypovitaminosis D, indicated by an obvious low serum vitamin D level, has been recurrently noted in the UAE, as well as in the surrounding Arabian Gulf countries. This problem is receiving much attention and attracting clinical and academic interest. Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to identify the association, if any, between vitamin D deficiency and the development of diabetic neuropathy in the UAE population with T2DM. (2) Methods: a total of 600 Emirati patients (male and female) with T2DM, aged between 20 and 80, were recruited from University Hospital Sharjah (UHS). The medical records of the patients were reviewed and analyzed. (3) Results: The results of the present study showed that among the 600 patients, 50% were affected with diabetic neuropathy. Vitamin D level in patients with neuropathy were estimated to be around 20 ng/mL (IQR 14-25), and vitamin D levels were significantly higher (33 ng/mL (IQR 20-42)) among patients without neuropathy, with p < 0.001. Another important finding was that patients without neuropathy had a better vitamin D status, with only 19% being deficient and 18% having insufficient vitamin D levels, compared to patients with neuropathy, where 39% were deficient (vitamin D < 20 ng/mL) and 44% had insufficient vitamin D levels (20-30 ng/mL). (4) Conclusion: The findings of the present study show that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (low serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D 25-OHD level) is significantly high in diabetic neuropathy in Emirati patients with T2DM.

Vitamin D3 supplementation and body composition in persons with obesity and type 2 diabetes in the UAE: A randomized controlled double-blinded clinical trial.

BACKGROUND & AIM: The co-existence of vitamin D deficiency with obesity and type 2 diabetes is highly prevalent in the United Arab Emirates. We do not have studies evaluating the vitamin D dose response and sufficiency, and if sufficient substitution dose during a longer period could decrease obesity or change fat distribution in obese type 2 diabetic vitamin D deficient Emiratis. METHODS: A randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted for 6 months followed by another 6 months of un-blinded follow up with 87 obese, type 2 diabetic participants. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (S-25(OH)D), anthropometric data, and life-style factors such as diet and sunlight exposure were measured. The study was executed in 3 phases in two arms vitamin D arm (n = 45) and placebo arm (n = 42); in Phase 1 the vitamin D arm received 6000 IU vitamin D3/day (3 months) followed by Phase 2 with 3000 IU vitamin D3/day. During follow up (phase 3) both the arms were un-blinded and supplemented with 2200 IU vitamin D3/day for another 6 months. RESULTS: At the baseline a significant (p < 0.01) positive association between body fat mass and body weight (r = 0.97) muscle mass (r = 0.47), water mass (r = 0.54), waist circumference (r = 0.82) and serum PTH (r = 0.28) was observed. On supplementation no significant changes in anthropometric dimensions was observed. S-25(OH) D peaked in phase 1 (77.2 ± 30.1 vs 28.5 ± 9.2, p = 0.003) followed by a decrease in phase 2 (62.3 ± 20.8, p = 0.006) paralleled by a decrease in parathyroid hormone in phase 2 (5.9 ± 2.4 vs 4.5 ± 1.8, p < 0.01) compared to baseline in vitamin D group. CONCLUSION: This study shows no significant influence of vitamin D supplementation on weight, fat mass or waist circumference in type 2 diabetic obese vitamin D deficient participants of Arab ethnicity after one year. Despite a relatively high daily dose of vitamin D3 we did not achieve target levels of S-25(OH)D above 75 nmol/L in this population. However, supplementation was safe, improved s- 25 (OH)D also reducing the incidence of eucalcemic parathyroid hormone elevation. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02101151.