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Vitamin D status and metabolic syndrome in Asian Indians

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to estimate serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH-D) in Asian Indians and test for association between 25-OH-D levels, insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic syndrome (MS). Serum 25-OH-D was measured in a cross-sectional sample of 441 Indians, aged 39.7±12.8 years (237 men and 204 women) with 27.9% prevalence of MS. Vitamin D insufficiency (12.5 to <50 nmol l−1) and hypovitaminosis D (50 to <100 nmol l−1) were present in 65.6 and 31.1% of participants, respectively. The 25-OH-D levels did not differ significantly between sexes (P=0.057). Multivariate regression analysis indicated a positive relationship between 25-OH-D and β-cell function (homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-B; β=0.245, P=0.006), whereas regression coefficients for fasting glucose (β=0.262, P=0.794), insulin (β=−0.140, P=0.889) and HOMA-IR (β=−0.119, P=0.172) were insignificant. Sex-stratified analysis showed no linear trend for increasing quintiles of 25-OH-D with prevalence of MS or its components (P>0.05). Although highly prevalent, vitamin D insufficient status was not associated with MS or IR in Asian Indians of either sex.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the volunteers who consented to participate in this study. We also thank Dr Shanmughan for his excellent statistical assistance. This study was supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India.

Author contributionVijaya Majumdar researched the data and wrote the manuscript. Dindagur Nagaraja reviewed and edited the manuscript. Rita Christopher researched the data and reviewed and edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to R Christopher.

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Majumdar, V., Nagaraja, D. & Christopher, R. Vitamin D status and metabolic syndrome in Asian Indians. Int J Obes 35, 1131–1134 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.232

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