Vitamin D deficiency is on the increase all over the world. The clinical role of vitamin D in calcium and bone metabolism is well known, but lower levels of the vitamin are also linked to obesity and an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. The molecular mechanisms of these associations are only partially understood, but it is known that vitamin D stimulates lipolysis and inhibits adipogenesis in human adipocytes, and lower vitamin D may induce body fat accumulation. Vitamin D receptors are expressed in pancreatic beta cells and skeletal muscle cells, and their activation results in increased insulin release and responsiveness to insulin for glucose transport. Vitamin D has recently been found to have potent antiproliferative, prodifferentiative, and immunomodulatory effects in many tissues. Vitamin D deficiency is often missed clinically even though its measurement is a simple laboratory test and its treatment is inexpensive and usually well tolerated. Nevertheless, physicians are not sufficiently informed about the effects of vitamin D other than those on the skeletal metabolism, and they rarely ask for plasma vitamin D measurement. The purpose of this review is to examine the association between vitamin D deficiency, obesity, and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Vitamin D, obesity and risk of diabetes

DE PERGOLA, Giovanni;
2012-01-01

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is on the increase all over the world. The clinical role of vitamin D in calcium and bone metabolism is well known, but lower levels of the vitamin are also linked to obesity and an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. The molecular mechanisms of these associations are only partially understood, but it is known that vitamin D stimulates lipolysis and inhibits adipogenesis in human adipocytes, and lower vitamin D may induce body fat accumulation. Vitamin D receptors are expressed in pancreatic beta cells and skeletal muscle cells, and their activation results in increased insulin release and responsiveness to insulin for glucose transport. Vitamin D has recently been found to have potent antiproliferative, prodifferentiative, and immunomodulatory effects in many tissues. Vitamin D deficiency is often missed clinically even though its measurement is a simple laboratory test and its treatment is inexpensive and usually well tolerated. Nevertheless, physicians are not sufficiently informed about the effects of vitamin D other than those on the skeletal metabolism, and they rarely ask for plasma vitamin D measurement. The purpose of this review is to examine the association between vitamin D deficiency, obesity, and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11586/32662
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