title: [Importance of vitamin D in insulin resistance].
abstract: Beyond its classical role in bone metabolism, fundamental and epidemiological studies suggest that vitamin D is also involved in immunity and cell proliferation. Indeed, 25-hydroxyvitamin D 1alpha-hydroxylase and specific receptors for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the hormonal form of vitamin D, have been found in a variety of organs and tissues, such as the liver, epidermis, thymus, small intestine and pancreas. This brief review examines the results of in vitro, animal and clinical studies suggesting a role of vitamin D in glucose homeostasis. Epidemiological studies and meta-analyses have shown a weak association between vitamin D nutritional status and the risk of diabetes, but this does not justify the increasing demands for serum vitamin D assay. The latter should be restricted to disorders affecting the musculoskeletal system.
authors.affiliation: Biochimie clinique et Centre de recherche, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 chemin de la Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montréal (Quebec), Canada, H3T 1C5. edgard.delvin@recherche-ste-justine.qc.ca
authors.forename: Edgard E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Delvin
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D014807:Vitamin D