Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with diabetes risk in Native American children.
OBJECTIVE
Vitamin D insufficiency has not been well studied in Native American (NA) children, who are at risk for obesity and diabetes. The authors examined vitamin D insufficiency and its association with body mass index (BMI) and insulin resistance.


METHODS
In a cross-section of NA children 5 to 18 years old (N = 198), anthropometrics, biomarkers of insulin resistance, and 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentration [25(OH) vitamin D] were measured. BMI% and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were calculated.


RESULTS
Mean age was 10.8 ± 0.3 years (mean ± SEM). Mean serum 25(OH) vitamin D was 17.8 ± 0.4 ng/mL and 97% had vitamin D insufficiency [25(OH) vitamin D <30 ng/mL]. After adjusting for BMI, 25(OH) vitamin D was inversely associated with HOMA-IR (P < .0001) and several other markers of insulin resistance.


CONCLUSIONS
Vitamin D insufficiency was nearly universal in this cohort of NA children and was associated with diabetes and vascular risk markers. Whether vitamin D supplementation can improve insulin resistance must be studied further.
Internal Medicine-Pediatrics,, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4085, USA. pnkumi@unmc.edu
Phyllis A
PA
Nsiah-Kumi
Judi M
JM
Erickson
Jennifer L
JL
Beals
Eric A
EA
Ogle
Mary
M
Whiting
Connie
C
Brushbreaker
Claudia D
CD
Borgeson
Fang
F
Qiu
Fang
F
Yu
Jennifer L
JL
Larsen
D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D016014:Linear Models; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013023:South Dakota / Q000453:epidemiology; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology
D015415:Biomarkers; D008055:Lipids; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D