WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), calcium-vitamin D co-supplementation correlates with improvements in metabolic profile, according to a study published online June 23 in Diabetologia.
Zatollah Asemi, Ph.D., from Kashan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and colleagues examined the impact of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on the metabolic status of pregnant women with GDM. A total of 56 women with GDM at 24 to 28 weeks' gestation were randomized to receive calcium plus vitamin D supplementation (1,000 mg daily and 50,000 U vitamin D3 at baseline and on day 21) or placebo.
The researchers found that there were significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose (P < 0.001), serum insulin levels (P = 0.02), and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (P = 0.001) with administration of calcium and vitamin D supplements versus placebo, and a significant increase in the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (P = 0.003). Compared with placebo, the intervention group also had a significant reduction in serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.02) and total cholesterol: high-density cholesterol (HDL) ratio (P = 0.003), and a significant increase in HDL-cholesterol levels (P = 0.01). A significant increase was also seen in total glutathione (P = 0.03) in the intervention versus placebo group, while a rise was prevented in malondialdehyde levels (P = 0.03).
"In conclusion, calcium plus vitamin D supplementation in pregnant women with GDM had beneficial effects on glucose metabolism, lipid profiles, and biomarkers of oxidative stress," the authors write.
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