The effects of vitamin D₂ or D₃ supplementation on glycaemic control and related metabolic parameters in people at risk of type 2 diabetes: protocol of a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, published as a randomized controlled trial.

A number of epidemiological studies have reported associations between low concentrations of 25-hydroxy vitamin D and the incidence of diabetes, but a causal link has not been established.

Who Took Part

The study group was 342 participants.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Secondary outcome measures include blood pressure, lipid levels, apolipoproteins, highly sensitive C-reactive protein, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and safety of supplementation. and C-reactive protein.

The trial is being conducted at two sites (London and Cambridge, U.K.) and a total of 342 participants are being recruited.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

Some participants received a placebo instead of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, giving a reference point.

The primary outcome measure is the change in glycated haemoglobin level between baseline and 4 months.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Blood Glucose, C-Reactive Protein, Cholecalciferol, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Dietary Supplements, Ergocalciferols and Glycated Hemoglobin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 342 participants.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

Its findings take up roughly 3 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2013 (BMC public health), a journal based in England.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.