A large trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will investigate whether vitamin D supplements can stall the development of type 2 diabetes in patients at high risk for the disease.
The Vitamin and Type 2 Diabetes (D2d) Study will randomize patients with prediabetes to 4,000 IU per day of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) or to placebo to determine if the supplement is an "affordable and accessible way to help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes," Griffin Rodgers, MD , director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), said in a press release . NIDDK is the primary sponsor of the study.
The dose of cholecalciferol being used in the study far exceeds the typical adult intake of 600 to 800 IUs a day.
The study aims to enroll about 2,500 patients who will be seen at 20 centers across the country. Patients will check in with their investigators twice a year, while still receiving regular care from their own doctors.
The study builds on previous NIH-funded studies, such as the Diabetes Prevention Program, that found lifestyle changes that help patients shed a modest amount of weight as well as the drug metformin can both help slow the development of type 2 diabetes in at-risk patients.
Myrlene Staten, MD , of the NIDDK, is the project officer and Anastassios Pittas, MD , of Tufts Medical Center in Boston is the principal investigator.
Enrollment is ongoing and patients can learn more about how to sign up via the study's website .
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