Around 50% Diabetes Patients Face Micronutrient Deficiency

TOPLINE:

Nearly half of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) experience micronutrient deficiencies, with women experiencing these deficiencies more frequently than men and the situation being particularly alarming in the Americas.

METHODOLOGY:

• Prior studies have reported varying prevalence rates of micronutrient deficiencies in patients with T2D, posing a significant challenge for physicians and policymakers in formulating nutritional recommendations for diabetes management.
• Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of studies published in several languages between 1998 and 2023 to estimate the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in patients with T2D.
• Patients with T2D (age, ≥ 18 years) of all sexes and ethnicities and with or without complications were included; the analysis was performed on cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cohort studies and randomized controlled trials.
• Deficiencies of minerals or electrolytes and vitamins (A, B complex, C, D, E, and K) were assessed.
• Subgroup analyses examined variations in the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies across sexes, diabetic complications, hospital vs community settings, and World Health Organization (WHO) regions including the Americas, Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific Region, and Africa.

TAKEAWAY:

• Researchers identified 132 datasets from 127 eligible studies (including 52,501 patients in total).
• Among patients with T2D, the pooled prevalence of micronutrient deficiency was 45.30%, with notable heterogeneity observed among the studies; among those with diabetic complications, 40% had micronutrient deficiency.
• A sex-specific analysis (62 studies for men and 63 for women) showed that the prevalence of micronutrient deficiency was slightly lower in men than in women (42.53% vs 48.62%, respectively).
• Among specific nutrients, the prevalence of deficiency was highest for vitamin D (60.45%; 66 studies), followed by magnesium (41.95%; 16 studies), iron (27.81%; three studies), and vitamin B12 (22.01%; 34 studies).
• The prevalence of micronutrient deficiency varied across WHO regions, with the highest prevalence found in the Americas (54.04%).

IN PRACTICE:

“The treatment of type 2 diabetes often tends to focus on energy metabolism and macronutrients, but the identification of a higher prevalence of specific micronutrient deficiencies in those affected is a reminder that optimizing overall nutrition should always be a priority,” Shane McAuliffe, visiting senior academic associate, wrote in a related press release.

“The findings should help to focus research and policy initiatives aimed at furthering our understanding of the causes and effects of these deficiencies and the potential for targeted and tailored interventions,” he added.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Daya Krishan Mangal, International Institute of Health Management Research University, Jaipur, India. It was published online in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health.

LIMITATIONS:

Most studies were hospital-based, with inherent selection bias, which limited generalizability to the broader population. The cross-sectional nature of the included studies made it challenging to establish causality between micronutrient deficiency and poor glycemic control. None of the studies evaluated the effect of various confounding factors arising from place, person, and time distribution of patients with T2D.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was supported by a grant from Abbott Nutrition Research and Development. One author reported being an employee of Abbott, the study sponsor.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.