An Investigation of the Relationship between Nutritional Status and Serum D Vitamin, Calcium and Magnesium Levels in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the relationship between nutritional status and serum vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium levels in healthy individuals and patients with type-2 diabetes.

Subjects and Method: The study was conducted with fifty-one 25-45-year-old diabetic patients and 51 healthy individuals admitted to the Internal Medicine outpatient clinic of Hakkari State Hospital. The demographic characteristics of the individuals were interviewed with a questionnaire prepared by the researchers. Dietary magnesium and calcium intakes were obtained via a 24-hour food frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements (body weight, height, waist circumference) were taken, and serum vitamin D, ionized calcium, and magnesium levels were analyzed. Since the main source of vitamin D is sunlight, the study was conducted in a single season.

Results: Forty-eight men (type-2 diabetic:28) and 54 women (type-2 diabetic:23) participated in the study. Male patients’ and healthy subjects’ daily calcium intake (10.7%, 45.0%, respectively) was <1000 mg (p<0.05). Serum vitamin D levels of the patients (84.3%) and healthy individuals (86.7%) were mostly at the deficiency level (p>0.05). Their ionized calcium (82.3%, 84.3%, respectively) (p>0.05) and magnesium (82.3%, 64.7%, respectively) (p<0.05) levels were found to be within normal limits. Serum vitamin D levels of the patients with a BMI range of 25-29.9 kg/m2 and female patients with a waist circumference ≥88 cm were lower than those of healthy individuals (p=0.002; p=0.009, respectively). A positive significant relationship was found between the magnesium intake of healthy individuals and body weight (r=0.353) and BMI values (r=0.282).

Conclusion: It was observed that serum vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium levels of type 2 diabetic patients were low and BMI and waist circumference values were high, which are indicators of obesity, and they are associated with both type 2 diabetes and low serum vitamin D levels.