Evidence from trials with vitamin D and /or calcium supplementation suggests that combined vitamin D and calcium supplementation may have a role in the prevention of type 2 DM only in population s at high risk ( i.e. glucose intolerance ) .
Vitamin D and calcium insufficiency may negatively influence glycemia , whereas combined supplementation with both nutrients may be beneficial in optimizing glucose metabolism
CONTEXT Altered vitamin D and calcium homeostasis may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus ( type 2 DM ) .
Vitamin D, glucose tolerance and insulinaemia in elderly men
Summary  Vitamin D status  was assessed in 142 elderly Dutchmen participating in a prospect i ve population -based study of environmental factors in the aetiology of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus . Of the men aged 70–88 years examined between March and May 1990 , 39 % were vitamin D depleted . After adjustment for confounding by age , BMI , physical activity , month of sampling , cigarette smoking and alcohol intake the 1-h glucose and area under the glucose curve during a st and ard 75-g oral glucose tolerance test ( OGTT ) were inversely associated with the serum concentration of 25-OH vitamin D ( r = −0.23 , p < 0.01 ; r = −0.26 , p < 0.01 , respectively ) . After excluding newly diagnosed diabetic patients total insulin concentrations during OGTT were also inversely associated with the concentration of 25-OH vitamin D ( r = −0.18 to −0.23 , p < 0.05 ) . Hypovitaminosis D may be a significant risk factor for glucose intolerance . [ Diabetologia ( 1997 ) 40 : 344–347
Evidence from trials with vitamin D and /or calcium supplementation suggests that combined vitamin D and calcium supplementation may have a role in the prevention of type 2 DM only in population s at high risk ( i.e. glucose intolerance ) .
Vitamin D and calcium insufficiency may negatively influence glycemia , whereas combined supplementation with both nutrients may be beneficial in optimizing glucose metabolism
CONTEXT Altered vitamin D and calcium homeostasis may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus ( type 2 DM ) .