A recent study has found that getting enough vitamin D during infancy and childhood, will reduce the risk of diabetes in kids who are genetically predisposed to have the disease. Researchers from the University of Colorado in the US examined the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and islet autoimmunity. Jill Norris from University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said, “For several years there has been controversy among scientists about whether vitamin D lowers the risk of developing of islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes.”
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune disease that is increasing by 3-5 per cent annually worldwide, researchers said. It is now the most common metabolic disorder in children under age 10. In younger children, the number of new cases is particularly high. The risks seem to be greater at higher latitudes, further north from the equator. Vitamin D status varies by latitude. However, associations between vitamin D levels and islet autoimmunity have been inconsistent. The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, looked for triggers and protective factors for type 1 diabetes in 8,676 children with elevated type 1 diabetes risk. Researchers compared 376 children who developed islet autoimmunity with 1,041 children who did not.
