Micronutrient Deficiencies Common Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

News
Article

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that almost half of all patients with type 2 diabetes were deficient in multiple micronutrients.

Nearly half of all patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) were found to be deficient in multiple micronutrients, according to new data published in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health.1 The study also showed that women were more affected than men and that vitamin D deficiency was the most common.

Micronutrient Deficiencies Common Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes / MarekPhotoDesign - stock.adobe.com

Micronutrient Deficiencies Common Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes / MarekPhotoDesign - stock.adobe.com

Diabetes is a leading cause of death across the world, with around 500 million people living with the disease. It is estimated that over 1 billion people will have diabetes by 2050, highlighting the critical need for increased public health strategies to control risk factors.2

READ MORE: Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Lead to Millions of New Diabetes, CVD Cases Yearly

“T2D has multifactorial aetiologies,” the authors wrote. “Numerous studies have suggested a significant role of micronutrients in influencing the development and pathophysiology of insulin resistance, a fundamental underlying factor of diabetes and various cardiometabolic disorders. Deficiencies in specific micronutrients associated with insulin action may act as catalysts in the pathways leading to several diseases, including T2D.”

A team of investigators conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the burden of micronutrient deficiency among patients with T2D. Data for the study was gathered through a comprehensive literature search of Embase, ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, LILACS. Keywords for the search included “micronutrient deficiency,” “multiple vitamin deficiencies,” “type 2 diabetes mellitus,” and “T2D.”

The study included 132 studies with a total of 52501 patients. Of the included studies, 94 were cross sectional studies, 124 were hospital based studies, 128 were reported in English, 26 were for individuals with diabetic complications and 30 were for people in the metformin group with vitamin B12 deficiency. Studies were included if they featured adult patients with T2D, and were cross sectional, longitudinal and cohort studies, or randomized controlled trials.

The study found that the pooled prevalence of micronutrient deficiency was 45.30% among the patients with T2D. Among men, the prevalence of micronutrient deficiency was 42.53%, versus 48.62% for women. In patients with diabetic complications, the prevalence of micronutrient deficiency was 40%. Additionally, vitamin D deficiency was the most common, followed by magnesium, iron, and vitamin B12.

“The treatment of type 2 diabetes often tends to focus on energy metabolism and macronutrients, but the identification of a higher prevalence of specific micronutrient deficiencies in those affected is a reminder that optimizing overall nutrition should always be a priority,” Shane McAuliffe, visiting senior academic associate at NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, said in a release.3

Study limitations included that most of the studies were hospital based, that there was a lack of community based studies on prevalence estimates of micronutrient deficiencies, and that some studies might have been missed. The authors acknowledged the study might not be generalized to the general population.

“The global rise in the disease burden of diabetes, essentially a metabolic disorder, has aroused the interest of the scientific community in exploring the role of micronutrients and their association with diabetes in recent years,” the authors concluded. “This systematic review and meta-analysis presents the pooled prevalence of multiple micronutrient deficiencies in the T2D population, as reported in the past 2 decades, highlighting the link between the hidden hunger with micronutrients and globally rising public health problem of diabetes.”

READ MORE: Diabetes Resource Center

Are you ready to elevate your pharmacy practice? Sign up today for our free Drug Topics newsletter and get the latest drug information, industry trends, and patient care tips, straight to your inbox.

References
1. Mangal DK, Shaikh N, Tolani H, et al. Burden of micronutrient deficiency among patients with type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Nutr Prev Health. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2024-000950
2. GBD 2021 Diabetes Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2023 Jul 15;402(10397):203-234. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01301-6. Epub 2023 Jun 22. Erratum in: Lancet. 2023 Sep 30;402(10408):1132. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02044-5. PMID: 37356446; PMCID: PMC10364581.
3. 3. Lack of essential vitamins and minerals common in people with type 2 diabetes. News Release. BMJ Group. January 29, 2025. Accessed January 29, 2025. https://bmjgroup.com/lack-of-essential-vitamins-and-minerals-common-in-people-with-type-2-diabetes/
Recent Videos
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.