Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Publication Date

7-1-2013

Abstract

In New Mexico, the mortality rate due to diabetes is 1.5 times higher than the nation. Diabetes causes a huge healthcare burden. In 2012, the national cost due to diabetes was $245 billion. Prior studies have established a positive correlation between vitamin D deficiency and diabetes; whether the same relationship holds for prediabetes is not well studied. Our purpose of the study was to find whether there was an association between vitamin D deficiency and prediabetes. We also wanted to find out if the association was stronger among Hispanics than non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Our rationale was to delay the progression of diabetes by preventing at a prediabetes stage with vitamin D supplementation in deficient population. In New Mexico, there are 106,310 adults diagnosed with prediabetes which is 7% of our population. Therefore, it is crucial that a preventive measure is in place to impede the progression of diabetes among a vulnerable population where there is a high rate of diabetes, obesity and vitamin D deficiency. ivWe planned to conduct our research with a cross-sectional study design. To do this we randomly selected 200 subjects from New Mexico Elder Health Survey 1993-1995, containing only Medicare recipients of Albuquerque. The participants were 65 years and older, containing non-Hispanic whites (55%) and Hispanics (45%) with relatively equal subjects with normal fasting plasma glucose and prediabetes. There were equal numbers of males and females. Also there were equal distributions of normal and deficient vitamin D level among our study subjects. From our statistical analyses, we found there was no association between vitamin D deficiency and prediabetes. However, when we conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis with interaction between Hispanic ethnicity and vitamin D deficiency with prediabetes as outcome, we found that Hispanics with vitamin D deficiency have 2.4-fold increased odds for having prediabetes as compared to NHW. Our findings are innovative, interesting and novel and will provide rationales for future research on vitamin D and prediabetes.

Keywords

Prediabetes, Vitamin D deficiency, Elderly, New Mexicans

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Clinical Research

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program

First Committee Member (Chair)

Sood, Akshay

Second Committee Member

Gonzales, Melissa

Third Committee Member

Burge, Mark

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