The impact of vitamin D in type 1 diabetes in pediatric patients

Background and objectives. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease, whose incidence is increasing worldwide. Patients with chronic illnesses are more likely to have a deficiency in vitamin D. The aim was to evaluate the impact of vitamin D on biochemical parameters in type 1 diabetes in patients under 18 years of age. Materials and methods. We performed a prospective observational study in 2023, on a sample of 121 type 1 diabetic patients aged between 5 and 18 years, who had previously undergone vitamin D screening before the study's start date. This time was called the initial time (T0). During the consultation, patients who agreed to participate in the study received a voucher for vitamin D screening, referred to as the final time (Tf). The period between T0 and Tf was 3 months. Results. At the initial time, 88 (72.73%) of patients had vitamin D deficiency, while at the final time, 11 (9.09%) had deficiency (p<0.05). Vitamin D levels were 18.69 ± 4.14 ng/mL at T0 compared to 31.28 ± 7.60 ng/mL at Tf (p<0.05). Additionally, at the initial time, 72.73% of patients presented with hypocalcemia, and 66.94% of them with hypophosphatemia, whereas at the final time, hypocalcemia was noticed in 19.01% (p<0.05), and hypophosphatemia in 25.62% (p<0.0001). Correlation between T0 and Tf vitamin D levels shows an r = 0.5764 (p<0.0001, 95% CI = 0.4392 - 0.6873). Conclusions. The study reveals a direct proportional relationship between imbalances in biochemical parameters and vitamin D deficiency, and indicates that vitamin D supplementation significantly contributed to the improvement of biochemical parameters.