MRC Epidemiology UnitVitamin D Supplementation Trial in People at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
The Vitamin D Trial aimed to examine the effects of vitamin D in preventing or delaying the development of type 2 diabetes.
Vitamin D is a natural substance produced in our skin when it is exposed to sunlight. It is also present in some foods. Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones. Many adults (especially from ethnic minority groups) do not have enough body vitamin D, and this may affect their health.
Recent research has raised the possibility that it may also have a role in the prevention of illnesses as diverse as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and infections. But this is not yet proven and further research is needed to test this.
Vitamin D comes in two forms: vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). This study was set up to investigate the effects of each of these two forms of vitamin D compared with a placebo (that is, when no vitamin D was given).
The Vitamin D Trial was designed to test whether supplementation with vitamin D would have an effect on metabolic markers of the development of type 2 diabetes among adults who are at risk of type 2 diabetes. This trial was a joint collaborative project between researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge. Across the London and Cambridge sites this trial recruited 340 people over 2010 to 2013.