Low Levels of Vitamin D Bad for Accutely Ill Diabetics

Low Levels of Vitamin D Cause Problems for Acutely Ill Diabetic Patients A group of endocrinologists in Sydney have observed that very sick patients tend to have very low levels of Vitamin D. The sicker they are, the lower the levels examined a cohort of 42 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. Forty-five percent turned out to be Vitamin D deficient. "Until now, the medical community has thought of Vitamin D deficiency as a chronic condition," said Dr. Lee. "Little is known about its acute
complications. " "Last year, we published several cases showing that Vitamin D deficiency can cause acute complications in the intensive care unit."

Vitamin D has been recognized for its many roles beyond the musculoskeletal system. It has been implicated in diabetes, in the immune system, in cancers, in heart disease and in metabolic syndrome. Vitamin D appears to have roles in controlling sugar, calcium, heart function, gut integrity, immunity and defense against infection. "Perhaps when we are well, we have ways to compensate for organ dysfunction if we run low on Vitamin D," "But when we are very sick, the "sick organs" draw upon any vitamin D available to function properly, therefore we may need extra Vitamin D to maintain organ function during critical illness. These findings were published as a letter in the April 30, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine...more