Vitamin D may ward off type 1 diabetes

MANCHESTER, England, March 13 (UPI) -- Vitamin D supplements in early childhood may ward off the development of type 1 diabetes in later life, a British review found.

Researchers at the St. Mary's Hospital for Women and Children in Manchester, England, said type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, in which insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the body's own immune system, starting in early infancy.

Researchers did a literature search of numerous studies concerning diabetes in children and vitamin D supplementation and found five suitable studies for analysis. The researchers the pooled the data from the five studies and re-analyzed.

The review, published online ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, showed that children given additional vitamin D were around 30 percent less likely to develop type 1 diabetes compared with those not given the supplement.

The higher and the more regular the dose, the lower was the likelihood of developing the disease, the review suggested.

Levels of vitamin D, and sunlight, from which the body manufactures the vitamin, have been implicated in the risks of developing various autoimmune disorders, including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.