Work

The relationship between nutrition status indicators and vitamin D deficiency in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Purpose To investigate the association between nutrition status indicators and vitamin D deficiency in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Patients and methods This cross-sectional study enrolled 285 hospitalized T2DM patients from Hebei General Hospital. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) < 20 ng/mL. Nutritional indicators, including total protein, albumin, prealbumin, body mass index (BMI), uric acid (UA), hemoglobin (Hb), and other information, were collected from medical records. Logistic regression, subgroup, and sensitivity analyses were used to explore the relationship between nutrition indicators and vitamin D deficiency. Results The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 62% (178/285). Compared with the no vitamin D deficiency group, the vitamin D deficiency group had significantly lower total protein (67.4 ± 5.9 vs. 69.4 ± 6.1 g/L, p = 0.007), while the other indicators showed no difference between the two groups. After adjusting all confounding variables, a negative association existed between total protein and vitamin D deficiency (OR = 0.933, 95% CI: 0.891–0.975, p = 0.002). Subgroup analysis indicated that in patients aged <60 years (OR = 0.928, 95% CI: 0.873–0.987, p = 0.018), male patients (OR = 0.912, 95% CI: 0.863–0.965, p = 0.001), and those with diabetes for less than 10 years (OR = 0.935, 95% CI: 0.890–0.982, p = 0.007), elevated total protein was significantly associated with lower odds of vitamin D deficiency. For prealbumin, a similar association was observed in patients aged <60 years. Sensitivity analysis showed total protein (treated as tertiles) was negatively correlated with vitamin D deficiency (OR = 0.453, 95% CI: 0.281–0.721, p = 0.001). A second sensitivity analysis, using <12 ng/mL as the cutoff to define severe vitamin D deficiency, showed a consistent result (OR = 0.939, 95% CI: 0.887–0.991, p = 0.026). Conclusion The nutrition indicator (total protein) was negatively related to vitamin D deficiency.

Source: Frontiers in Nutrition

DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1777757

Authors: Hang Zhao, Yunjia Zhang, Zhimei Zhang, Huanxin Liu, Luping Ren, Shuchun Chen

Institution: Hebei General Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Vitamin D Research Studies

Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801