Association of vitamin D levels and polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Mahmoud A Alfaqih; Abdullah Araidah; Zouhair Amarin; Rami Saadeh; Othman Al-Shboul; Mariam Khanfar; Mohammed Z Allouh

doi:10.3892/br.2022.1585

Association of vitamin D levels and polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Biomed Rep. 2022 Nov 17;18(1):3. doi: 10.3892/br.2022.1585. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Mahmoud A Alfaqih¹, Abdullah Araidah¹, Zouhair Amarin², Rami Saadeh³, Othman Al-Shboul¹, Mariam Khanfar⁴, Mohammed Z Allouh^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan.
³ Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan.
⁴ Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
⁵ Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan.
⁶ Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a leading cause of death. The prevalence of T2DM in countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including Jordan, is among the highest worldwide. The reason(s) behind the epidemic nature of T2DM in Jordan are unknown but warrant further exploration. Studies have indicated that T2DM could be influenced by diet and/or genetic background. Evidence suggests that numerous patients with T2DM are deficient in vitamin D. The activity of vitamin D on its target tissues may be influenced by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene. It was therefore hypothesized that SNPs in VDR could modify the risk of T2DM. To test this hypothesis, 125 patients with T2DM were recruited along with 125 controls. The study subjects were genotyped for variations in rs2228570, rs1544410, rs7975232, and rs731236 SNPs in the VDR. The levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] were measured from the serum. The analysis revealed that reduced 25(OH)D and age were associated with the risk of T2DM (P<0.05). Moreover, under a dominant inheritance model, the GG genotype of rs2228570 was revealed to increase the risk of T2DM in univariate and multivariate analysis (P<0.05). Additionally, a chromosomal block containing the GAAG haplotype of VDR SNPs increased the risk of T2DM (OR=1.909; CI: 1.260-2.891; P=0.0021). Collectively, the present study revealed that low levels of serum 25(OH)D and rs2228570 of the VDR gene are associated with the risk of T2DM.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus; dingle nucleotide polymorphisms; rs2228570; vitamin D; vitamin D receptor.

Grants and funding

Funding: The present study was supported by a grant provided to MAA from the Deanship of Research at Jordan University of Science and Technology (grant no. 93/2017). Article processing charges were provided by a grant to MZA from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University (grant no. G00003632).