Fasting plasma glucose and serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in individuals with Middle Eastern and Swedish descent

Marina Taloyan; Kristin Hjörleifdottir Steiner; Claes-Göran Östenson; Helena Salminen

doi:10.1007/s40200-023-01226-0

Fasting plasma glucose and serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in individuals with Middle Eastern and Swedish descent

J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2023 May 22;22(2):1-7. doi: 10.1007/s40200-023-01226-0. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Marina Taloyan^{1

2}, Kristin Hjörleifdottir Steiner², Claes-Göran Östenson³, Helena Salminen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Neurobiology, Department of Neurobiology, Care sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels allé 23, Huddinge, S-141 83 Sweden.
² Academic Primary Health Care Centre, Region Stockholm, Box 45436, Stockholm, 104 31 Sweden.
³ Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Endocrine and Diabetes Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.

Abstract

Purpose: To determine fasting plasma glucose and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (s-25(OH)D) levels and associations between abnormal fasting plasma glucose levels and inadequate s-25(OH)D levels in individuals of Middle Eastern and Swedish descent.

Methods: Observational study with individuals without a diabetes diagnosis, 54.5% of Swedish descent and 45.5% of Middle Eastern descent. In total, 830 participants from two primary healthcare centres in Flemingsberg and Jakobsberg, which are southern and northern suburbs, respectively, of Stockholm, Sweden were included in the study.

Results: Prevalence of inadequate s-25(OH)D levels (at or below 50 nmol/L) was 67.2% among those of Middle Eastern descent and 20.5% among those of Swedish descent (P < 0.001). S-25(OH)D levels correlated weakly positively with fasting plasma glucose levels (ρ = 0.20, P = 0.002) in individuals of Middle Eastern descent. Being of Middle Eastern descent (OR 6.7, 95% CI 4.3-10.4) and having abnormal fasting plasma glucose (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.9) were independent predictors of having inadequate s-25(OH)D levels.

Conclusions: Healthcare in Sweden should consider testing fasting plasma glucose and s-25(OH)D levels, particularly in individuals of Middle Eastern descent. The unclear relationship between vitamin D and glucose levels warrants investigation.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01226-0.

Keywords: 25-hydroxy vitamin D; Diabetes; Glucose; Immigrant; Middle Eastern.

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