Vitamin D, obesity, and obesity-related chronic disease among ethnic minorities: a systematic review.

Nutrition. 2011 Sep;27(9):868-79. Epub 2011 Jun 25.
Renzaho AM, Halliday JA, Nowson C.
WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia. andre.renzaho at deakin.edu.au
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For ethnic minorities this study has found that low vitamin D==> diabetes etc

rather than the conventional hypothesis: low vitamin D ==> obesity ==> diabetes etc

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OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) status and obesity, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in ethnic minorities.

METHODS: Databases searched were CINHAL with full text, Global Health, MEDLINE with full text, and PsycINFO from 1980 through 2010 (February).
Studies were included if they
1) targeted immigrants from low- to high-income countries or ethnic minorities,
2) focused primarily on 25(OH)D and its relation to obesity, T2DM, and/or CVDs, and
3) were published in peer-reviewed journals.
The influences of key confounders such as age, gender, and ethnicity on any observed relations were also assessed.
Due to the heterogeneity of study characteristics, only a narrative synthesis was undertaken.

RESULTS:
Ethnic minorities had significantly higher rates of vitamin D insufficiency (25[OH]D <50 nmol/L;

• children 43.6-48.7% versus 10%;
• adults 30.3-53% versus 13.7-26%)

than their white counterparts.

None of the studies reported a prevalence of obesity stratified by ethnicity.
There was evidence supporting links between vitamin D deficiency and obesity-related chronic diseases, with 14 of 14 studies reporting a statistically significant result with a measurement of obesity,

• four of five for T2DM,
• four of five for CVDs, and
• one of one for the metabolic syndrome.

However, the strength of the association varied across ethnic groups depending on the index used to measure adiposity, T2DM, and CVDs.
Because most of the included studies were cross-sectional and there were variations in outcome measurements, it was not possible to determine the relative contributions of obesity or vitamin D insufficiency to CVD risk and risk of T2DM or which is the initial driver It is possible both have a role to play.

CONCLUSION: Further research specific to migrant populations using randomized controlled trials are required to establish whether causal links between 25(OH)D and obesity-related chronic disease exist, and whether vitamin D supplementation could be valuable in the prevention or treatment of obesity-related diseases.

PMID 21704500 Copyright © 2011
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See also Vitamin D Life

• All items in category Skin color and vitamin D 187 items as of Feb 2012
• Virtually all Native American children low on vitamin D and had indications of diabetes – Oct 2011
• Overview Dark Skin and Vitamin D
• Overview Diabetes and Vitamin D
• Metabolic Syndrome and vitamin D Diabetes is one of the Metabolic Syndrome diseases
• 90 percent of Dark Skinned diabetics had less than 30 ng of vitamin D – July 2011
• Striking ethnic health disparity – blacks dying due to lack of vitamin D – Nov 2011
• Do blacks have a 5 year life penalty due to low vitamin D
• Race vs vitamin D level - Veith May 2011
• Vitamin D accounts for 25 percent of the racial differences in blood pressure – Oct 2011