Vitamin D, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium Consumption and Markers of Glucose Metabolism in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Abstract

Objective

This was a cross-sectional study associating vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, and potassium intakes with markers of glucose metabolism in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).

Methods

HCHS/SOL is a multicenter, prospective, population-based cohort study on Hispanics/Latinos aged 18–74 years in the US. For this analysis, we included 10,609 participants who were free of diabetes. Analysis of covariance was used to assess associations of a range of micronutrient intake on the Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and 2-hour post-oral glucose tolerance test (2h-plasma glucose) separately for normoglycemic and with pre-diabetes, after controlling for important confounders. All analyses accounted for the complex sample design and sampling weights.

Results

HOMA-IR levels were significantly lower among adults with intakes in the highest quartile for vitamin D, magnesium, and potassium compared to the respective lowest quartiles, for those with normoglycemia and pre-diabetes, even after adjusting for confounders, such as diet quality (p < 0.05). For those with pre-diabetes, HOMA-IR levels were also significantly lower for those in the highest quartile of calcium intake. However, 2h-plasma glucose was significantly higher in those with intakes higher than quartile 1 for vitamin D and calcium among those with normoglycemia and significantly higher in quartile 3 of potassium intake for those with pre-diabetes, p < 0.05. No significant associations were found for HbA1c in either group.

Conclusions

Higher consumption of vitamin D, magnesium, and potassium are associated with optimal levels of HOMA-IR among participants with normoglycemia and pre-diabetes.

Keywords:

• Vitamin D
• calcium
• magnesium
• potassium
• HOMA-IR
• HbA1c
• 2-hour glucose levels
• Hispanics/Latinos

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the staff and participants of HCHS/SOL for their important contributions. A complete list of staff and investigators has been previously published (27) and is also available on the study website http://www.cscc.unc.edu/hchs/.

Authors’ contributions

CP and CMP conceived of the secondary analysis; CMP and LGS performed the statistical analysis; DSA verified the statistical analyses. CP and CMP wrote the manuscript with input from all authors; CP had primary responsibility for final content. AMSR, DSA, and LAS were part of the team that conceived the study and helped with the development of the data collection. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

Disclaimers

Cristina Palacios, Cynthia Pérez and Lorena González-Sepúlveda had full access to the study data and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and accuracy of analyses. All authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript. The views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Institutes of Health; or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Disclosure statement

None of the authors had any financial or other conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The baseline examination of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos was carried out as a collaborative study supported by contracts from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to the University of North Carolina (N01-HC65233), University of Miami (N01-HC65234), Albert Einstein College of Medicine (N01-HC65235), Northwestern University (N01-HC65236), and San Diego State University (N01-HC65237). The following Institutes/Centers/Offices contribute to the HCHS/SOL through a transfer of funds to the NHLBI: National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communications Disorders, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Office of Dietary Supplements. Also, the analysis for this publication was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U54MD007587.