According to a study published in the October issue of Diabetes Care, patients with type 2 diabetes who have a vitamin D deficiency have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
The 15-year longitudinal observational follow-up study found very low levels of plasma vitamin D (less than the 10th percentile) to be a strong and independent predictor of all-cause mortality in type 2 diabetic patients. Low levels of vitamin D were also predictive of cardiovascular mortality. These associations were not only independent of blood sugar control and conventional cardiovascular risk factors including known ischemic heart disease, but also were independent of kidney function. The study followed 289 type 2 diabetes patients of whom 196 (68%) died.
Source: Diabetes Care
