Vitamin D deficiency increases risk of nephropathy and cardiovascular diseases in Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Background: Vitamin D (VD) deficiency is associated with insulin function and secretion. It is linked with diabetes mellitus (DM) progression, and complications were also recorded. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate serum VD level in Type 2 DM (T2DM) patients and its association with diabetic nephropathy and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Materials and Methods: In this cross‑sectional study, 205 patients with Type 2 diabetes age ranged from 39 to 75 years old were enrolled. Serum VD, high‑sensitivity C‑reactive protein (hs‑CRP), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were measured. In addition, urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR) was estimated. Results: Patients with Type 2 diabetes had a 78.5% VD level ˂30 ng/m. ACR and hs‑CRP levels were significantly increased in patients with diabetes with VD ˂30 ng/m (P = 0.011 and P = 0.008, respectively). Female had significantly lower VD level than male P < 0.001. Patients exposed to sunlight had significantly higher VD level and lower hs‑CRP levels compared with less‑exposed, P value (0.001 and <0.001), respectively. Exercise significantly increased VD and decreased ACR levels in DM patients, P value (0.046 and 0.002), respectively. VD was positively associated with age (r = 0.355 P = 0.040) and negatively correlate with BMI (r = −0.502 P = 0.009), duration of disease (r = −0.498 P = 0.003), ACR (r = −0.384 P = 0.015), and HbA1c (r = −0.327 P = 0.032). Conclusion: The evidence from this study suggest that patients with Type 2 diabetes with VD deficiency are at higher risk for developing CVD and nephropathy.