Vitamin D Status and Correlation with Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in Gansu Province, China

To investigate the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and blood glucose and lipid levels in people over 18 years of age in Gansu, China.

A total of 1928 volunteers (958 males and 970 females) were selected. The prevalence of abnormal glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism in the vitamin D deficiency group (<20 ng/mL) and the non-vitamin D deficiency group (≥20 ng/mL) were compared. The correlations between serum 25(OH)D and blood glucose and lipid were analyzed.

A total of 1681 patients had 25(OH)D deficiency, with an overall prevalence of 87.2% (82.9% in males and 91.4% in females). The levels of 25(OH)D in the diabetic group and the IGT/IFG group were significantly lower than that in the normal group. The level of 25(OH)D was significantly lower in the dyslipidemia group than that in the normal group, and was significantly lower in the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥5.6 mmol/L group than that in the FPG <5.6 mmol/L group (p=0.002). The 25(OH)D level in the serum triglyceride (TG) ≥1.7 mmol/L group was significantly lower than that of the TG <1.7 mmol/L group (p=0.0274). The age, heart rate, TG, TC, FPG and H₂PG levels in the vitamin D deficiency group were significantly higher than those in the non-vitamin D deficiency group (p<0.05). The prevalence of FPG ≥5.6 mmol/L in the vitamin D deficiency group was higher than that in the non-vitamin D deficiency group (23.5% vs 16.6%, p=0.016). Multiple linear regression analysis suggested that serum 25(OH)D levels were independently correlated with gender, age, FPG, TG and heart rate (β=-0.218, -0.129, -0.075, β=-0.103, -0.058, all p<0.05).

The incidences of dyslipidemia and dysglycemia were higher in the vitamin D deficiency group. The vitamin D level was independently and negatively correlated with FPG and TC, but not with waist circumference, BMI and blood pressure.