Publication:

Evaluation of vitamin D status in suspected cases of metabolic syndrome

Background Metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Vitamin D has been linked to glucose metabolism and insulin regulation. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the association between the serum level of vitamin D and metabolic syndrome. This may help generate additive strategies in the prevention and management of this syndrome. The objective of the study was to compare the levels of serum vitamin D in subjects with metabolic syndrome and subjects without metabolic syndrome.

Methods A prospective study with 80 subjects was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Southern India. The sample comprised 40 subjects in the age group of (18-60 years) with metabolic syndrome as cases and 40 subjects without metabolic syndrome in the age groups of (18-60 years) as controls. The presence of any 3 of the following- fasting blood glucose (FBS ≥100mg/dl), triglycerides (TGL≥150mg/dl) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C ≤40mg/dl-men, ≤50mg/dl-women) levels, blood pressure (≥130/85mmHg or drug treatment) and abdominal waist circumference (>94 cm (37 in) in men and >80 cm (31 in) in women) were used as criteria to screen for the presence (cases) or absence (controls) of metabolic syndrome. Serum vitamin D (25-hydroxy vitamin D) levels were compared between the two groups.

Results Mann Whitney U test was used to compare the vitamin D levels between the two groups. Significantly (p=0.05) lower vitamin D levels were seen in the cases compared to the controls.

Conclusions Metabolic syndrome is associated with significantly lower serum vitamin D levels. We suggest that further studies with a larger sample size be undertaken to confirm the same.