Vitamin D supplementation and diabetes-related autoimmunity in the ABIS study

Supplementation with vitamin D during infancy, as well as intake of vitamin D during pregnancy, has been associated with decreased risk of type 1 diabetes or diabetes-related autoantibodies in children. The primary aim of this report was to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation during infancy is associated with diabetes-related autoimmunity at 1 and 2.5 yr in the children. Second, we examined whether consumption of vitamin-D-containing supplements during pregnancy is related to risk of autoimmunity in the offspring. Screening questionnaires were completed for 16,070 infants after delivery, including a food-frequency questionnaire regarding the mother's use of dietary supplements during pregnancy. Parents of 11,081 and 8805 infants completed a follow-up questionnaire regarding the use of vitamin supplementation at 1 and 2.5 yr, respectively. Autoantibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase and islet antigen-2 (IA-2) were analyzed in whole blood from 8694 children at 1 yr and 7766 children at 2.5 yr. Supplementation with AD-drops was not associated with autoantibodies at 1 or 2.5 yr. Use of vitamin-D-containing supplements during pregnancy was associated with reduced diabetes-related autoimmunity at 1 yr (adjusted odds ratio: 0.707, confidence interval: 0.520-0.962, p = 0.028) but not at 2.5 yr. In conclusion, no association was found between an intermediate dose of vitamin D supplementation during infancy and development of diabetes-related autoantibodies at 1 and 2.5 yr. Use of vitamin-D-containing supplements during pregnancy was associated with reduced development of glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies or IA-2A in the offspring at 1 yr, but not at 2.5 yr.