Vitamin D supplements for children 'reduces diabetes risk'
Thursday, 13 Mar 2008 00:01
Taking vitamin supplements may reduce the risk of developing type 1 diabetes
Science In Focus
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Taking vitamin D supplements in early childhood may reduce the risk of developing type 1 diabetes later in life, a British Medical Journal (BMJ) report claims.
A report published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood today claims that children given the additional vitamins were around 30 per cent less likely to develop type 1 diabetes compared to those who weren't.
Evidence also suggest that the higher and more regular the intake of vitamin D, the lower the likelihood of developing the disease.
Levels of vitamin D in the body have been connected to the risks of developing multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The vitamin is manufactured by exposure to sunlight and a considerable difference in the incidence of type 1 diabetes relative to levels of sunlight exposure is shown in the report published today.
For example a child in Finland is 400 times more likely to develop the disease than a child in Venezuela.
Around two million people in Europe and North America are affected by type 1 diabetes.
The disease is recognised as an autoimmune disorder, where insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the body's own immune system, and can start in early infancy.