Vitamin d deficiency in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus in southern region of saudi arabia.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Type-2 diabetes mellitus and Vitamin D deficiency are both common in Saudi Arabian population. New roles of vitamin D have emerged recently especially in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, cancer and insulin resistance. Objective: To estimate 25-OH vitamin D deficiency in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus in comparison to normal age-matched non-diabetic control population. Methods: A Randomized Case-Control study was done in three tertiary care hospitals in Southern Region, Saudi Arabia from June 2010 to June 2012 and 345 patients were selected; 172 in the diabetic group and 173 in the non-diabetic group. Biochemical workup and 25-OH vitamin D levels were done. Results: The mean serum 25-OH vitamin D levels in the diabetic group were 15.7 + 7.5 ng/mL as compared healthy non-diabetic group having 11.1 + 5.9 ng/mL and a total of 340 patients (98.5%) from both groups were found to be deficient in 25-OH vitamin D which is the highest reported so far in Saudi Arabia. Conclusion: The population in our study was generally deficient in 25-OH vitamin D irrespective of diabetes mellitus indicating a greater need for vitamin D supplementation.