The Association Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adolescents

This study aimed to analyze the demographic characteristics associated with vitamin D deficiency, as well as the association between vitamin D deficiency and metabolic syndrome, among Korean adolescents.

This cross-sectional descriptive study involved 2314 adolescents aged 12-18years. Participant data were extracted from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between January 2010 and December 2014. A logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the association between vitamin D and metabolic syndrome. All analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 24.

Among the participants, 78% exhibited vitamin D deficiency and 7.8% had metabolic syndrome. The vitamin D deficient and sufficient groups differed significantly in terms of age, sex, household income, and self-perceived health status. Among the subcomponents of metabolic syndrome, vitamin D deficiency was associated with a 2.07-fold higher risk of elevated fasting blood glucose (≥100mg/dL).

The association of vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of elevated fasting blood glucose levels suggests that adolescents in this population should receive interventions to prevent and manage diabetes. In the future, the effects of vitamin D deficiency on chronic health problems, including diabetes, should be investigated in adolescents.

Adolescents with vitamin D deficiency should be screened for prediabetes, and clinicians should be concerned about both the diagnosis and prevention of diabetes in this population.