Journal Article

Vitamin intake and its association with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among Malaysian adults

Yusof, Khairul Hazdi, Ja’afar, Mohd Hasni, Mat Nasir, Nafiza, Miller, Victoria, Ismail, Rosnah, Ab Razak, Nurul Hafiza, Zainol Abidin, Najihah, Ismail, Noor Hassim, Md Isa, Zaleha, Mohd Tamil, Azmi, Baharudin, Noorhida

2025

Overview

Background Vitamin deficiency could increase the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Thus, this study aimed to determine the association between dietary vitamin intake and the prevalence of T2DM among the Malaysian adult population. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 9,314 participants from Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology Study (PURE) conducted in Malaysia. The participants comprised of 43% (4003) males and 57% (5311) females with mean age of 51.2 ± 9.4 years old. Participants were classified into the T2DM group if they reported having been diagnosed with T2DM or had a glucose level of ≥ 7 mmol/L (fasting blood glucose) or ≥ 11.1 mmol/L (non-fasting blood glucose). A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to measure the participants’ usual dietary intake. The intake of dietary vitamins A, B6, B9, B12, C, E, and K was calculated based on nutrient databases. Results The T2DM prevalence was 16.9% among Malaysian adult population. The prevalences of inadequate dietary vitamin intake were elevated for vitamins A (22.8%) and C (28.8%), and notably high for vitamins B6 (98.3%), B9 (100.0%), B12 (80.5%), E (91.3%), and K (82.2%). The intake of dietary vitamins B6, B9, B12, C, E, and K was significantly lower among T2DM patients compared to those without T2DM (p-value < 0.05) when adjusted for covariates. Additionally, higher intake of dietary vitamins A, B6, B9, B12, C, E, and K was significantly associated with a reduced prevalence of T2DM (p-value < 0.05) when adjusted for covariates. Conclusion This study found an alarming deficiency of vitamins A, B6, B9, B12, C, E, and K in the dietary intake among the Malaysian adult population regardless of T2DM status. The dietary vitamin deficiency (vitamins B6, B9, B12, E, and K) was more susceptible among those with T2DM compared to non-T2DM. This study indicated that higher dietary vitamin intake (vitamins A, B6, B9, B12, C, E, and K) could benefit by reducing the prevalence of T2DM. Therefore, an adequate intake of dietary vitamins is crucial for this study population to reduce the prevalence of T2DM.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Adult / Aged / Biostatistics / Blood / Blood glucose / Body mass index / Care and treatment / Cholesterol / Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / Comorbidity / Complications and side effects / Cross-Sectional Studies / Diabetes / Diabetes mellitus / Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent) / Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology / Diagnosis / Diet / Diet - statistics & numerical data / Dietary intake / Effectiveness / Energy intake / Environmental Health / Epidemiology / Exercise / Family medical history / Fasting / Female / Food / Food habits / Food intake / Gender / Glucose / Health aspects / Humans / Malaysia / Malaysia - epidemiology / Male / Marital status / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Metabolism / Middle Aged / Population studies / Prevalence / Prospective Studies / Public Health / Questionnaires / Risk factors / Rural areas / Sociodemographics / Statistical analysis / T2DM / Type 2 diabetes / Vaccine / Vitamin B12 / Vitamin B6 / Vitamin deficiency / Vitamins / Vitamins - administration & dosage