Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentrations and carotid artery intima-media thickness among type 2 diabetic patients
Giovanni Targher1, Lorenzo Bertolini, Roberto Padovani
1Division of Internal Medicine, Sacro Cuore Hospital, Negrar (VR), Italy. targher@sacrocuore.it
Objective:
To estimate the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among type 2 diabetic adults and to assess the relationship between hypovitaminosis D and intimal medial thickening (IMT) of the common carotid artery, a marker of preclinical atherosclerosis.
Design, Patients And Measurements:
We compared winter serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D] concentrations in 390 consecutive type 2 diabetic patients and 390 nondiabetic controls who were comparable for age and sex. Common carotid IMT was measured with ultrasonography only in diabetic patients by a single trained operator blinded to subjects' details.
Results:
The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (i.e. 25(OH)D
Conclusions:
Hypovitaminosis D is highly prevalent in type 2 diabetic adults and is strongly and independently associated with increased carotid IMT. Further investigation into whether vitamin D may play a role in the prevention of atherosclerosis appears to be warranted.
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