The effect of vitamin D replacement therapy on insulin resistance: a retrospective study

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 5, 647 - 651, 15.09.2025

Bahar Arıcan Tarım , Tuğçe Uskur

https://doi.org/10.38053/acmj.1739961

Abstract

Aims: This study retrospectively evaluated the effect of a 3-month vitamin D replacement therapy in patients diagnosed with insulin resistance (IR) and low vitamin D levels. The relationship between changes in vitamin D levels and IR was investigated.
Methods: A total of 98 patients with low serum vitamin D levels and HOMA-IR >2.5, who were admitted to the internal medicine outpatient clinic between January 1 and December 31, 2023, were included in this retrospective study. Sociodemographic characteristics and pre-and post-treatment biochemical parameters were obtained from medical records. Post-supplementation levels of vitamin D, glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR were analyzed. Pre-and post-treatment values were compared using paired t-tests. The relationship between changes in vitamin D levels and HOMA-IR scores was assessed using Spearman correlation analysis.
Results: Of the 98 patients, 85.7% were female and 14.3% were male, with a mean age of 39.09±11.45 years. A significant reduction in HOMA-IR score was observed after vitamin D supplementation (pre: 4.54±2.05; post: 3.01±1.28; p<0.0001). A statistically significant negative correlation was found between the increase in vitamin D levels and the decrease in HOMA-IR scores (r=–0.298, p=0.0029). In addition, glucose and insulin levels significantly decreased after treatment, while no significant changes were observed in lipid profile or vitamin B12 levels.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that vitamin D replacement therapy may have a beneficial effect on IR. Vitamin D supplementation could be considered as a supportive approach in the management of IR, especially in individuals with vitamin D deficiency. The more pronounced improvement observed in female patients indicates the potential importance of considering sex-specific differences in future clinical assessments, but this should be interpreted cautiously due to the limited number of male participants.

Keywords

Vitamin D , insulin resistance , HOMA-IR , diabetes

D vitamini replasman tedavisinin insülin direnci üzerine etkisi

Abstract

Giriş Bu çalışmada, D vitamini düzeyi düşük ve insülin direnci (IR) tanısı almış hastalarda 3 aylık D vitamini replasman tedavisinin HOMA-IR skoruna etkisi retrospektif olarak değerlendirilmiş, ayrıca D vitamini düzeyindeki değişimin insülin direnciyle ilişkisi incelenmiştir.

Yöntem Çalışmaya 1 Ocak-31 Aralık 2023 tarihleri arasında D vitamini düzeyi düşük ve HOMA-IR >2.5 olan 98 hasta dahil edilmiştir. Hastaların sosyodemografik verileri ile tedavi öncesi ve sonrası biyokimyasal parametreleri dosya kayıtlarından elde edilmiştir. D vitamini takviyesi sonrası ölçülen D vitamini, glukoz, insülin düzeyleri ve HOMA-IR skorları değerlendirilmiş; öncesi ve sonrası değerler eşleştirilmiş t-testi ile karşılaştırılmıştır. Ayrıca D vitamini düzeyindeki değişim ile HOMA-IR skorundaki değişim arasındaki ilişki Spearman korelasyon analizi ile analiz edilmiştir.

Bulgular Çalışmaya dahil edilen 98 hastanın %85.7’si kadın, %14.3’ü erkek olup yaş ortalaması 39.09±11.45 yıldır. D vitamini takviyesi sonrası HOMA-IR skorunda anlamlı bir azalma saptanmıştır (öncesi: 4.54±2.05; sonrası: 3.01±1.28; p<0.0001). D vitamini düzeyindeki artış ile HOMA-IR skorundaki azalma arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı negatif bir korelasyon bulunmuştur (r = –0.298, p = 0.0029). Ayrıca glukoz ve insülin düzeylerinde de anlamlı düşüş gözlenmiştir. Lipid profili ve B12 düzeylerinde anlamlı bir değişiklik saptanmamıştır.

Sonuç Elde edilen bulgular, D vitamini replasman tedavisinin insülin direnci üzerinde olumlu etkiler oluşturabileceğini göstermektedir. D vitamini eksikliği bulunan bireylerde bu takviyenin, insülin direnci tedavisinde destekleyici bir yaklaşım olarak değerlendirilmesi önerilebilir. Özellikle kadın hastalarda gözlenen daha belirgin iyileşme, cinsiyete özgü farklılıkların da dikkate alınmasını gerekli kılmaktadır.

Keywords

D vitamini , İnsülin direnci , HOMA-IR , Diyabet

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