93 million people with diabetic retinopathy (DR) (6.8% of global population)
17 million with proliferative DR,
21 million with diabetic macular oedema,
28 million with vision-threatening DR.
- Meta-Analysis for Eye disease (META-EYE) study group. Global prevalence and major risk factors of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes Care. 2012;35:556–564
Table of contents
- Sight threatening diabetic retinopathy 1.8 X more likely if vitamin D <20 ng - meta-analysis May 2022
- VitaminDWiki - Items in both Diabetes and Vision (7 as of May 2022)
- VitaminDWiki - Overview Diabetes and vitamin D contains
- VitaminDWiki - Items in both categories Diabetes and Vitamin D Receptor
- VitaminDWiki - Vitamin D Receptor category contains
- 55 health problems associated with poor VDR
- How to increase VDR activation
- Growing Crisis—9.6M in America with Diabetic Retinopathy—1.84M at Risk of Blindness—Blacks & Latinos Hit Hardest - June 2023
- Sadly, I convinced a friend with Retinopathy to take vitamin D, but her doctor said >2,000 IU could be toxic
Sight threatening diabetic retinopathy 1.8 X more likely if vitamin D <20 ng - meta-analysis May 2022
Associations between vitamin D status and sight threatening and non-sight threatening diabetic retinopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders (2022) https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-022-01059-3
Mike Trott, Robin Driscoll, Enrico Iraldo & Shahina Pardhan
Background
Vitamin D levels have been shown to be associated with diabetic retinopathy, however to date, no review has examined the relationship between vitamin D and sight threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR) and non-sight threatening diabetic retinopathy (NSTDR). The aim of this review, therefore, was to pool associations between vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D < 20 ng/mL) and STDR/NSTDR. A further aim was to examine associations between circulating 25(OH)D levels and STDR/NSTDR.
Methods
A systematic review of major databases was undertaken for studies published from inception to 22/04/2022, using a pre-published protocol. Studies reporting prevalence of STDR or NSTDR versus a control group with diabetes and no DR or DME and either (a) vitamin D deficiency prevalence, or (b) circulating 25(OH)D levels, were included. A random effects meta-analysis was undertaken.
Results
Following screening, 12 studies (n = 9057) were included in the meta-analysis. STDR was significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency (OR = 1.80 95%CI 1.40–2.30; p = <0.001), whereas NSTDR was not (OR = 1.07 95%CI 0.90–1.27; p = 0.48). Both conclusions were graded as low credibility of evidence. Furthermore, circulating 25(OH)D levels were significantly associated with both NSTDR (SMD = -0.27 95%CI -0.50; −0.04; p = 0.02) and STDR (SMD = −0.49 95%CI -0.90; −0.07; p = 0.02), although these were graded as low credibility of evidence.
Conclusion
Vitamin D deficiency is significantly associated with STDR (including DME), but not with NSTDR. Given the well-reported associations between vitamin D deficiency and other unfavourable outcomes, it is important that vitamin D deficiency is managed appropriately and in a timely manner to reduce the risk of blindness in people with diabetes.
Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
VitaminDWiki - Items in both Diabetes and Vision (7 as of May 2022)
- Retinopathy in males 6.9 X more likely if low vitamin D and low Magnesium - June 2024
- Diabetic Retinopathy associated with low Vitamin D - many studies
- Diabetic Retinopathy twice as likely if a T2 Diabetic has low level of vitamin D – meta-analysis March 2017
- Diabetic Retinopathy 2 X more likely if poor Vitamin D Receptor – meta-analysis Nov 2016
- Diabetic Retinopathy 27 percent more likely if low vitamin D – meta-analysis May 2016
- Diabetic Neuropathy sometimes can be reversed by vitamin D
- Worse diabetic vision is associated with low vitamin D or high PTH - Nov 2012
- Diabetics have more retina problems as they have less vitamin D – Sept 2011
VitaminDWiki - Overview Diabetes and vitamin D contains
- Diabetes is 5X more frequent far from the equator
- Children getting 2,000 IU of vitamin D are 8X less likely to get Type 1 diabetes
- Obese people get less sun / Vitamin D - and also vitamin D gets lost in fat
- Sedentary people get less sun / Vitamin D
- Worldwide Diabetes increase has been concurrent with vitamin D decrease and air conditioning
- Elderly get 4X less vitamin D from the same amount of sun
Elderly also spend less time outdoors and have more clothes on - All items in category Diabetes and Vitamin D
552 items: both Type 1 and Type 2 Vitamin D appears to both prevent and treat diabetes
- Appears that >2,000 IU will Prevent
- Appears that >4,000 IU will Treat , but not cure
- 90% less T2 Diabetes in the group having lots of Vitamin D
- Appears that Magnesium helps both Prevention and Treatment
- Many diabetics would be better treated if Gut-Friendly Vitamin D were used
Number of articles in both categories of Diabetes and:
- Dark Skin
24 ; Intervention 56 ; Meta-analysis 40 ; Obesity 36 ; Pregnancy 44 ; T1 (child) 39 ; Omega-3 11 ; Vitamin D Receptor 24 ; Genetics 13 ; Magnesium 30 Click here to see details Some Diabetes studies
- Take Vitamin D to prevent prediabetes from progressing into diabetes – American Diabetic Association – 2024
- Diabetes and Vitamin D meta-analyses - many studies 39+ as of Nov 2024
- 99.7% of people who got Diabetes had been regularly consuming food emulsifiers - May 2024
- Type 2 Diabetes treated by Vitamin D (often 50,000 IU weekly) – meta-analysis July 2023
- Diabetic inflammation synergistically decreased by Vitamin D and exercise – RCT June 2022
- Incidence of Type-2 Diabetes increased 3X in 30 years (by the way, Vitamin D helps) – July 2022
- Vitamin d treats Type II Diabetes in many ways (14 article review) - Sept 2021
- T2 Diabetes 30 percent more likely if poor Vitamin D Receptor – meta-analysis of 47 studies – July 2021
50 ng of Vitamin D fights Diabetes
- Saudi study defines normal Vitamin D level to be 50 to 70 ng (diabetes, etc.) - June 2020
- Diabetes 5X less likely if more than 50 ng of Vitamin D – April 2018
T1 Diabetes
- T1 Diabetes 3X lower risk if high vitamin D (over 40 ng) – Meta-analysis Nov 2020
- Type 1 Diabetes is prevented and treated by Vitamin D – review of 16 studies – Sept 2019
- Type 1 Diabetes prevention with Vitamin D and Omega-3 – Symposium April 2019
Pre-Diabetes
- 4X reduction in prediabetes progressing to T2D if more than 50 ng of vitamin D – RCT March 2023
- Prediabetes reduced by weekly 60,000 IU of Vitamin D – RCT Jan 2021
- Prediabetes 1.5 X more likely to go away if take Vitamin D – meta-analysis July 2020
Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Magnesium - many studies
Diabetic Epidemic
- Step back to 1994. Suppose an epidemic struck the United States, causing blindness, kidney failure, and leg amputations in steadily increasing numbers.
Suppose that in less than a decade's time, the epidemic had victimized one out of every eight people
That epidemic is real, and its name is diabetes, now the nation's sixth leading cause of death.
Chart from the web (2018?)
VitaminDWiki - Items in both categories Diabetes and Vitamin D Receptor
- T2 Diabetes might be fought by Vitamin D plus Vitamin D Receptor activators – April 2023
- Diabetes 3X more likely if had COVID ICU (VDR was deactivated) - April 2023
- T2 diabetes complications increased 35-52 percent if low vitamin D – Sept 2022
- T2 Diabetes 30 percent more likely if poor Vitamin D Receptor – meta-analysis of 47 studies – July 2021
- Gestational Diabetes – increased risk if poor Vitamin D Receptor – 2 Meta-Analyses 2021
- Type 1 Diabetes (Autoimmune) and Vitamin D, Vitamin D Receptor and Cathelicidin - Dec 2020
- Diabetes decreased by activating Vitamin D Receptor (transgenic mice) – Feb 2020
- Gestational Diabetes 2.4X more likely if poor Vitamin D Receptor (region in China) – June 2019
- Gestational Diabetes 3 X more likely if poor Vitamin D receptor (Turkey) – May 2019
- Resveratrol prevented bone loss associated with T2DM (probably via VDR) – RCT Sept 2018
- Diabetic nephropathy deactivates the Vitamin D Receptor, reducing tissue Vit D – Feb 2019
- Resveratrol improves health (Vitamin D receptor, etc.) - many studies
- Inflammation and immune responses to Vitamin D (perhaps need to measure active vitamin D) – July 2017
- Type 1 Diabetes 14 percent more likely with 2 Vitamin D Receptor mutations – Oct 2017
- Gestational Diabetes Mellitus associated with 4 Vitamin D genes – Oct 2015
- Diabetic nephropathy (Kidney problem) 1.8 X more likely if poor Vitamin D Receptor – meta-analysis July 2017
- Type 1 Diabetes association with poor Vitamin D Receptor: 39 studies – April 2017
- Type 1 diabetes 1.6 times more likely if a Vitamin D Receptor problem – Feb 2017
- Diabetic Retinopathy 2 X more likely if poor Vitamin D Receptor – meta-analysis Nov 2016
- Diabetic foot ulcer 1.7 times more likely if poor Vitamin D Receptor – Jan 2017
- Vitamin D activates the hypothalamus (in rodents) to reduce weight and diabetes– May 2016
- Diabetes (T2) 16 percent more likely if Vitamin D receptor problem – Oct 2015
- Type 1 diabetes associated with faulty Vitamin D receptor genes – May 2013
- Vitamin D receptor gene associated with 50 percent more type 2 Diabetes – meta-analyses 2013, 2016
VitaminDWiki - Vitamin D Receptor category contains
530 studies in Vitamin D Receptor category Vitamin D tests cannot detect Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) problems
See also:
A poor VDR restricts Vitamin D from getting in the cells48 studies in the Resveratrol category It appears that 30% of the population have a poor VDR (40% of the Obese )
Health problems include: Autoimmune (
Several diseases protect themselves by deactivating the Vitamin D receptor. Example: Breast Cancer
- - - - - - - -
The Vitamin D Receptor is associated with many health problems19 studies), Breast Cancer ( 24 studies), Colon Cancer ( 13 studies), Cardiovascular ( 23 studies), Cognition ( 16 studies), Diabetes ( 24 studies), Hypertension ( 9 studies), Infant ( 22 studies), Lupus ( 6 studies), Metabolic Syndrome ( 4 studies), Mortality ( 4 studies), Multiple Sclerosis ( 14 studies), Obesity ( 17 studies), Pregnancy ( 24 studies), Rheumatoid Arthritis ( 10 studies), TB ( 8 studies), VIRUS ( 37 studies), Click here for details
Some health problems, such as Breast Cancer, Diabetes, and COVID protect themselves by reducing VDR activation
55 health problems associated with poor VDR
A poor VDR is associated with the risk of 55 health problems click here for details
The risk of 48 diseases at least double with poor VDR as of Jan 2023 click here for details
Some health problem, such as Breast Cancer reduce the VDRVDR at-home test $29 - results not easily understood in 2016
There are hints that you may have inherited a poor VDR
How to increase VDR activation
Compensate for poor VDR by increasing one or more:Increasing Increases 1) Vitamin D supplement Sun
Ultraviolet -BVitamin D in the blood
and thus in the cells2) Magnesium Vitamin D in the blood
AND in the cells3) Omega-3 Vitamin D in the cells 4) Resveratrol Vitamin D Receptor 5) Intense exercise Vitamin D Receptor 6) Get prescription for VDR activator
paricalcitol, maxacalcitol?Vitamin D Receptor 7) Quercetin (flavonoid) Vitamin D Receptor 8) Zinc is in the VDR Vitamin D Receptor 9) Boron Vitamin D Receptor ?,
etc10) Essential oils e.g. ginger, curcumin Vitamin D Receptor 11) Progesterone Vitamin D Receptor 12) Infrequent high concentration Vitamin D
Increases the concentration gradientVitamin D Receptor 13) Sulfroaphane and perhaps sulfur Vitamin D Receptor 14) Butyrate especially gut Vitamin D Receptor 15) Berberine Vitamin D Receptor Note: If you are not feeling enough benefit from Vitamin D, you might try increasing VDR activation. You might feel the benefit within days of adding one or more of the above
Far healthier and stronger at age 72 due to supplements Includes 6 supplements that help the VDR
Growing Crisis—9.6M in America with Diabetic Retinopathy—1.84M at Risk of Blindness—Blacks & Latinos Hit Hardest - June 2023
Dark skins reduces Vitamin D levels in blood
Diabetes reduces VitaminD levels in both blood and cells.
"Blacks have higher VTDR prevalence rates (8.7%) as well as Hispanics (7.1%) than Whites (3.6%) "
Sadly, I convinced a friend with Retinopathy to take vitamin D, but her doctor said >2,000 IU could be toxic
I had recommended 4,000 IU = the upper allowable limit at the time.
She has been blind for the past 8 yearsMy recomendation in 2022 would still be an average of 4,000 IU - but taken as 50,000 IU once every 2 weeks along with any of the Vitamin D Receptor activators (daily) listed above
Diabetic Retinopathy associated with low Vitamin D - many studiesPrinter Friendly Follow this page for updates156440 visitors, last modified 19 Jun, 2023, This page is in the following categories (# of items in each category)