Do Vit D supplements protect kidney health of pre-diabetics?

Difficult for clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation to show a benefit

A recent clinical trial described in Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) has examined the potential of vitamin D supplementation for protecting the kidney health of individuals with pre-diabetes.

In the general population, low blood vitamin D levels have been associated with higher risks of various diseases, including type 2 diabetes and kidney disease.

Sun H Kim, MD, MS (Stanford University School of Medicine) and her colleagues conducted a secondary analysis of the Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes (D2d) study to evaluate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on kidney health in individuals with pre-diabetes, a condition that increases risk for type 2 diabetes, which in turn is the leading cause of kidney disease.

Dr Kim said, “Our results did not show a benefit of vitamin D supplements on kidney function. About 43 per cent of the study population was taking outside-of-study vitamin D, up to 1000 IU daily, at study entry, though. Among those who were not taking any vitamin D on their own, there was a suggestion for vitamin D lowering the amount of urine protein over time, which means that it could have a beneficial effect on kidney health. Additional studies are needed to look into this further.”

Dr Kim added that vitamin D supplementation is popular, and it’s difficult for clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation to show a benefit if the population studied is not vitamin D deficient.