The relationship between vitamin D deficiency and metabolic syndrome in obese individuals

Introduction: Decreased vitamin D levels may have a role in the development of metabolic syndrome due to its effect on the metabolic syndrome components or because of insulin resistance. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in obese individuals and to determine the relationship between deficiency of vitamin D with metabolic syndrome in obese people with metabolic syndrome and healthy individuals. Patients and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, samples were selected among obese individuals admitted to Hajar and Kashani hospitals in Shahrekord. Metabolic indices of the samples were measured and recorded along with information such as demographic characteristics. According to the indices, the subjects (n= 192) were divided into two equal groups of healthy obese and obese people with metabolic syndrome. Vitamin D levels were measured in both groups followed by determination of relationships between the vitamin D levels with metabolic syndrome and its indices. Results: The mean ages of the patients and healthy groups were 50.09±1.95 years and 52.57±2.05 years, respectively. The average serum vitamin D levels in the two groups showed a significant difference with significantly lower vitamin D levels in the metabolic syndrome group than those in the obese subjects (P < 0.001). The relationship between each of the metabolic syndrome indices at different levels of vitamin D showed that levels of triglyceride (TG) and fasting blood sugar (FBS) decreased with increasing serum vitamin D. However, the level of vitamin D was not significantly related to the waist size and body mass index (BMI) (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that vitamin D determination can be used for the prognosis and early detection of people at risk for metabolic syndrome.