Vitamin D Deficiency and Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans: The Common Denominators

Abstract

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and type 2 diabetes is disproportionately elevated in African Americans compared to other ethnic groups in the United States. Despite recent advances in diabetes treatment and management, the most significant escalation in incidence of type 2 diabetes has been in this group. Some studies suggest a possible role for vitamin D deficiency in the development of type 2 diabetes and that insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity are reduced when vitamin D levels are deficient. Obesity, hyperglycemia, cardiovascular disease, and minority race are common among people with type 2 diabetes and vitamin D deficiency. These phenomena are known precursors to the development of type 2 diabetes and exacerbate the risk for complications where diabetes exists. Poverty, urban living settings, and lactose intolerance are also common among African Americans. These conditions promote opportunities for vitamin D deficiency to manifest and attenuate opportunities for participation in health-promoting behaviors by those affected. The common traits between vitamin D deficiency and type 2 diabetes merit careful attention.