Vitamin D supplement in early childhood and risk for Type I diabetes mellitus

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Diabetologia. 1999 Jan;42(1):51-4.

Vitamin D supplement in early childhood and risk for Type I

(insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. The EURODIAB Substudy 2 Study Group.

[No authors listed]

The initiation of the immunopathogenetic process that can lead to

Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus in childhood probably

occurs early in life. Studies in vitro have shown that vitamin D3 is

immunosuppressive or immunomodulating and studies in experimental models

of autoimmunity, including one for autoimmune diabetes, have shown

vitamin D to be protective. Seven centres in Europe with access to

population-based and validated case registers of insulin-dependent

diabetes patients participated in a case-control study focusing on early

exposures and risk of Type I diabetes. Altogether data from 820 patients

and 2335 control subjects corresponding to 85% of eligible patients and

76% of eligible control subjects were analysed. Questions focused on

perinatal events and early eating habits including vitamin D

supplementation. The frequency of vitamin D supplementation in different

countries varied from 47 to 97% among control subjects. Vitamin D

supplementation was associated with a decreased risk of Type I diabetes

without indication of heterogeneity. The Mantel-Haenszel combined odds

ratio was 0.67 (95% confidence limits: 0.53, 0.86). Adjustment for the

possible confounders: a low birth weight, a short duration of breast

feeding, old maternal age and study centre in logistic regression

analysis did not affect the significant protective effect of vitamin D.

In conclusion, this large multicentre trial covering many different

European settings consistently showed a protective effect of vitamin D

supplementation in infancy. The findings indicate that activated vitamin

D might contribute to immune modulation and thereby protect or arrest an

ongoing immune process initiated in susceptible people by early

environmental exposures.

PMID: 10027578 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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ne Holden, MS, RD

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