Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2014 Feb;68(2):196-202.
doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.235. Epub 2013 Nov 20.

Dietary vitamin D intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: the EPIC-InterAct study

Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Dietary vitamin D intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: the EPIC-InterAct study

S Abbas et al. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2014 Feb.

Abstract

Background/objectives: Prospective cohort studies have indicated that serum vitamin D levels are inversely related to risk of type 2 diabetes. However, such studies cannot determine the source of vitamin D. Therefore, we examined the association of dietary vitamin D intake with incident type 2 diabetes within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct study in a heterogeneous European population including eight countries with large geographical variation.

Subjects/methods: Using a case-cohort design, 11,245 incident cases of type 2 diabetes and a representative subcohort (N=15,798) were included in the analyses. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for type 2 diabetes were calculated using a Prentice-weighted Cox regression adjusted for potential confounders. Twenty-four-hour diet-recall data from a subsample (N=2347) were used to calibrate habitual intake data derived from dietary questionnaires.

Results: Median follow-up time was 10.8 years. Dietary vitamin D intake was not significantly associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes. HR and 95% CIs for the highest compared to the lowest quintile of uncalibrated vitamin D intake was 1.09 (0.97-1.22) (Ptrend=0.17). No associations were observed in a sex-specific analysis. The overall pooled effect (HR (95% CI)) using the continuous calibrated variable was 1.00 (0.97-1.03) per increase of 1 μg/day dietary vitamin D.

Conclusions: This observational study does not support an association between higher dietary vitamin D intake and type 2 diabetes incidence. This result has to be interpreted in light of the limited contribution of dietary vitamin D on the overall vitamin D status of a person.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1. Dietary vitamin D intake (per 1 μg/day) and risk of type 2 diabetes, by country and overall: the EPIC-InterAct study; CI = confidence interval.
(Models stratified by sex and age; adjusted for non-fat energy, polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, physical activity, education, BMI, smoking, alcohol intake.)

References

    1. Maestro B, Campion J, Davila N, Calle C. Stimulation by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 of insulin receptor expression and insulin responsiveness for glucose transport in U-937 human promonocytic cells. Endocr J. 2000;47:383–391. - PubMed
    1. Danescu LG, Levy S, Levy J. Vitamin D and diabetes mellitus. Endocrine. 2009;35:11–17. - PubMed
    1. Kadowaki S, Norman AW. Dietary vitamin D is essential for normal insulin secretion from the perfused rat pancreas. J Clin Invest. 1984;73:759–766. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Palomer X, Gonzalez-Clemente JM, Blanco-Vaca F, Mauricio D. Role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2008;10:185–197. - PubMed
    1. Norman AW, Frankel JB, Heldt AM, Grodsky GM. Vitamin D deficiency inhibits pancreatic secretion of insulin. Science. 1980;209:823–825. - PubMed

Publication types