Vitamin D level and early cow’s milk protein exposure in type 1 diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE To analyze the association of vitamin D levels and cow’s milk exposure in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). METHOD This is a case control study of children with T1DM aged 4–18 years and healthy control subjects. The children were grouped by level of vitamin D according to the 2011 guidelines of the Task Force: deficiency (≤20 ng/mL), insufficiency (>20–30 ng/mL), and sufficiency (>30 ng/mL). The children’s history of cow’s milk exposure was obtained. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent t-test, Mann-Whitney test, and logistic regression, with significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS The study sample included 31 children with T1DM and 24 healthy control subjects. Vitamin D deficiency was detected in 4/31 children with T1DM, and none of the control subjects (p<0.001). Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were detected in 77.41% of the children with T1DM and 25% of the control subjects (p<0.001), and vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were predictors of T1DM (odds ratio [OR]=3.09; p<0.001). The proportion of children exposed to cow’s milk in the first 3 months was 51.16% in the T1DM group and 50% in the control subjects (p=1.000). Logistic regression analysis showed that the vitamin D level was significantly correlated with T1DM (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS Low vitamin D levels were shown to be correlated with T1DM, whereas early exposure to cow’s milk was not. Vitamin D supplementation is essential since it has an immunomodulatory effect. It is recommended to be given to T1DM children.