Diabetes Type 2 & Heart Disease Risks Increased by Vitamin D Deficiency Says Study

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Vitamin D deficiency could increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart diseases, according to a recent study conducted in Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, published in the Cell Reports journal.

Vitamin D plays a vital role in preventing the inflammation that leads to atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes, say the researchers.

The researchers studied the effects of vitamin D deficiency in mice that are incapable of processing vitamin D in immune cells and observed that the deficiency involved inflammation, generation of excess glucose, resistance to insulin action and plaque accumulation in blood vessels, reports the Science Daily.

In a press release, Dr. Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, senior investigator and associate professor of medicine and of cell biology and physiology said that "The finding that vitamin D helps regulate glucose metabolism may explain previous epidemiological studies identifying an increased risk of diabetes in patients with vitamin D deficiency." He also noted that "In our study, inactivation of the vitamin D receptor induced diabetes and atherosclerosis, so normalizing vitamin D levels may have the opposite effect."  

Bernal-Mizrachi added that the ability of the monocytes in the blood to enter the blood vessel walls is increased by the inactivation of vitamin D receptor, thereby enabling them to deposit cholesterol and secrete inflammatory substances in the blood vessels that result in heart disease and diabetes.

"The monocytes were laden with fat in the absence of vitamin D receptor. And they carried that fat into the artery, so that's a new understanding of another way fat may get into blood-vessel walls in patients who are vitamin D deficient," Bernal-Mizrachi explained.

Dr. Amy E. Riek, assistant professor of medicine and co-author of the study said that "We knew that when monocytes matured and became macrophages, they would eat cholesterol deposited inside the blood vessel wall," She also added that "But in these experiments, we found that when they don't have vitamin D, the monocytes, while they're still in circulation, also eat up cholesterol and carry it in the blood stream," reported the Inquisitr.

Riek said that the findings provide new insight on treatment options. The results also shed light on how lipids enter the blood vessel walls of the body and cause plaques.

"As part of that study, we're actually isolating monocytes from the blood of patients before and after vitamin D therapy," Riek revealed. "So we can look at the inflammatory properties of those cells to see whether vitamin D is causing any changes."