Vitamin C & Healthy Kidneys
Vitamin C Status in People with Types 1 and 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Varying Degrees of Renal Dysfunction
Relationship to Body Weight
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder and is associated with depleted vitamin C status. The underlying aetiologies and pathogeneses responsible for this association are poorly understood.
This retrospective study explored the vitamin C status of 136 adult outpatients with type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM/T2DM), with a focus on indices of renal function and metabolic health, including body weight.
In the T1DM group (n = 73), the median plasma vitamin C concentration was 33 (18, 48) µmol/L, with 37% hypovitaminosis C and 12% deficiency. In the T2DM group (n = 63), the median plasma concentration was 15 (7, 29) µmol/L, with 68% hypovitaminosis C and 38% deficiency.
Lower vitamin C was associated with macroalbuminuria (p = 0.03), renal dysfunction (p = 0.08), and hypertension (p = 0.0005).
Inverse associations were also observed between plasma vitamin C and various other metabolic health parameters (p < 0.05), especially body weight (p < 0.0001), which was higher in those with hypovitaminosis C (<23 µmol/L; p = 0.0001). The association with body weight remained, even after multivariable analysis.
In summary, body weight was a significant predictor of low vitamin C status in people with diabetes. This suggests that people with both diabetes and high body weight may have greater than average vitamin C requirements.