LB097 - ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY AND AGE AT ONSET OF TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS

LB097

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY AND AGE AT ONSET OF TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS

A. Pana^1,2,*

¹Nutrition, Algocalm Polyclinic, ²Doctoral School of Medicine and Pharmacy, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology , Targu Mures, Romania

Rationale: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease. Patients with chronic illnesses are more likely to have a deficiency in vitamin D. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and the association with the onset age in pediatric patients with T1DM.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 39 patients under 18 years of age with T1DM. Vitamin D levels were measured and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was determined. Participants were stratified according to age at diabetes onset into two groups: onset before 10 years of age and onset at or after 10 years of age. A t-test was performed to test the significance of the difference in the mean vitamin D levels between groups.

Results: Among the 39 patients, 27 (69.23%) had vitamin D deficiency. In patients in whom diabetes was diagnosed early, the mean age was 5 years (range 1 - 9 years) and 12 years (range 10 - 16 years) in those who were diagnosed late. Vitamin D deficiency was detected in 64.10% of those with early diabetes, compared to 5.13% of those with late-diagnosed diabetes (p<0.001). Vitamin D levels were 18.16 ± 3.81 ng/mL in those with early diabetes compared to 19.13 ± 6.25 ng/mL in those with later diagnosed diabetes (p<0.05).

Conclusion: In the present study, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was high, affecting 7 in 10 pediatric patients with T1DM. Moreover, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was significantly higher in patients in whom diabetes was diagnosed early, before the age of 10, than in those in which diabetes had later onset. Given the deleterious impact of chronic vitamin D deficiency, these findings highlight the importance of monitoring vitamin D levels in T1DM pediatric patients.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared