Vitamin D reduces risk of diabetes
Vitamin D supplementation in children reduces the risk
of developing type 1 diabetes, reseachers say.
Dr Elina Hyppönen, Institute of Child Health, London,
and colleagues investigated the incidence of type 1 diabetes in 10,366
children in Finland. Frequency and dose of vitamin D supplementation was
recorded from birth and the primary outcome was incidence of type 1 diabetes.
Children who took vitamin D supplements had a lower
incidence of type 1 diabetes than those who did not, irrespective of the
dose taken. In children who regularly took the recommended dose of vitamin
D (2,000IU daily), the risk of developing type 1 diabetes was reduced
by about 80 per cent compared with those who took less. “We believe that
vitamin D might somehow inhibit the autoimmune reaction targeted towards
the beta cells of the pancreas,” the authors comment.
However, they caution that because vitamin D is
potentially toxic, care should be taken over changing recommendations
about intake. (Lancet 2001;358:1500).
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