Correction of Vitamin D Levels and Its Effect on Insulin Resistance and Weight Gain in Obese Youth

Summary

Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common in obese youth. In our obese population followed in the Endocrinology clinic at Children's Medical Center Dallas, vitamin D levels were inversely correlated with a measure of insulin resistance. We propose to show that correction of vitamin D levels in obese children and adolescents improves their insulin sensitivity. Obese youth presenting to the Center for Obesity and its Consequences on Health (COACH) clinic will be randomized to receive either the most recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations of minimum D3 dose of 600 IU/day (1), or receive higher doses of D3 such that the blood levels of vitamin D will be brought to a target level in either the low part or high part of the normal range. The goal is to determine if correction of vitamin D deficiency will improve insulin sensitivity in this group. Secondary goals include determining whether correction of vitamin D deficiency in obese adolescents and children results in less weight gain, and determining the amount of D3 required to correct vitamin D levels in this population. Our specific hypotheses are as follows: Hypothesis #1 Obese youth treated with Vitamin D3 who achieve low-normal 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (OHD) levels (30-50 ng/mL) or high-normal 25-OHD levels (60-80 ng/mL) will have improved insulin resistance, as measured by Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), compared to those individuals with deficient 25-OHD levels (\< 30 ng/mL). Hypothesis #2 Subjects with a higher BMI will have higher Vitamin D dose requirements than current IOM recommendations of 600 IU/day and will take a longer period of time to reach target 25-OHD levels. Hypothesis #3 Subjects with normal 25-OHD levels will demonstrate less weight gain compared to subjects on the control arm.

Timeline

Start

2011-03

Primary completion

2013-09

Completion

2015-10-11

Publications

• Background Olson ML, Maalouf NM, Oden JD, White PC, Hutchison MR. Vitamin D deficiency in obese children and its relationship to glucose homeostasis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Jan;97(1):279-85. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-1507. Epub 2011 Nov 9.
• Background Ross AC, Manson JE, Abrams SA, Aloia JF, Brannon PM, Clinton SK, Durazo-Arvizu RA, Gallagher JC, Gallo RL, Jones G, Kovacs CS, Mayne ST, Rosen CJ, Shapses SA. The 2011 report on dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D from the Institute of Medicine: what clinicians need to know. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jan;96(1):53-8. doi: 10.1210/jc.2010-2704. Epub 2010 Nov 29.
• Background Mansbach JM, Ginde AA, Camargo CA Jr. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels among US children aged 1 to 11 years: do children need more vitamin D? Pediatrics. 2009 Nov;124(5):1404-10. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-2041.
• Background Rajakumar K, Fernstrom JD, Holick MF, Janosky JE, Greenspan SL. Vitamin D status and response to Vitamin D(3) in obese vs. non-obese African American children. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2008 Jan;16(1):90-5. doi: 10.1038/oby.2007.23.
• Background Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, Dietrich T, Dawson-Hughes B. Estimation of optimal serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D for multiple health outcomes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jul;84(1):18-28. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/84.1.18.
• Background Nagpal J, Pande JN, Bhartia A. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the short-term effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on insulin sensitivity in apparently healthy, middle-aged, centrally obese men. Diabet Med. 2009 Jan;26(1):19-27. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2008.02636.x.
• Background von Hurst PR, Stonehouse W, Coad J. Vitamin D supplementation reduces insulin resistance in South Asian women living in New Zealand who are insulin resistant and vitamin D deficient - a randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Br J Nutr. 2010 Feb;103(4):549-55. doi: 10.1017/S0007114509992017. Epub 2009 Sep 28.
• Background Alemzadeh R, Kichler J, Babar G, Calhoun M. Hypovitaminosis D in obese children and adolescents: relationship with adiposity, insulin sensitivity, ethnicity, and season. Metabolism. 2008 Feb;57(2):183-91. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2007.08.023.
• Background Maalouf J, Nabulsi M, Vieth R, Kimball S, El-Rassi R, Mahfoud Z, El-Hajj Fuleihan G. Short- and long-term safety of weekly high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in school children. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jul;93(7):2693-701. doi: 10.1210/jc.2007-2530. Epub 2008 Apr 29.

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