High-dose Vitamin D Supplementation on Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Patients: Is there an Improvement in Glycemic Control?

Background: Some authors evaluated the effect of VD on hyperglycemia in T1DM, but the results remain controversial. This study aims to analyze the effects of high-dose VD supplementation on T1DM patients’ glycemic levels, maintaining stable doses of insulin. Methods: Prospective, 12-week clinical trial including 67 T1DM patients, supplemented with high doses of cholecalciferol according to participants' VD value. Patients with VD levels below 30 ng/mL received 10,000 IU/day; those with levels between 30-60 ng/mL received 4,000 IU/day. Patients who had not achieved 25(OH)D levels > 30 ng/ml or presented insulin dose variation during the study were not analyzed. Results: Only 46 out of 67 patients accomplished the criteria at the end of the study. There was no general improvement in the glycemic control evaluated by HbA1c (9.4 ± 2.4 vs 9.4 ± 2.6, p=NS) after VD supplementation. However, a post-hoc analysis, based on HbA1c variation, identified patients who had HbA1c reduced at least 0.6% (group 1, N = 13 (28%)). In addition, a correlation between 25(OH)D levels with HbA1c and total insulin dose at the end of the study was observed (r = -0.3, p<0.05; r=-0.4, p<0.05, respectively), and a regression model demonstrated that 25(OH)D was independent of BMI, duration of T1DM and final total insulin dose, being capable of determining 9.2% of HbA1c final levels (Unstandardized B coefficient = −0.033 (CI 95%: −0.064 to −0.002), r² = 0.1, p <0.05). Conclusion: Our data suggest that VD is not widely recommended for glycemic control. Nevertheless, specific patients might benefit from this approach.