Diabetes is a big issue in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In fact, their rates are almost double what we see worldwide.
About half of the diabetic patients there also face a painful condition called neuropathy. This is a type of nerve damage that can make patients feel pain and muscle weakness.
Over time, this condition gets worse. What’s more surprising? A lot of these patients don’t have enough vitamin D, which is something we usually get from the sun.
The Research
Dr. Bashair M. Mussa from the University of Sharjah led a study to better understand this. Her team looked at the medical records of 600 patients from the UAE. They found that half of them had neuropathy.
The interesting thing? Dr. Mussa’s study linked the nerve damage to a lack of vitamin D. This might sound strange because the UAE gets a lot of sunshine.
But, the study suggests that the strong sun might actually keep people from going outside. And if they’re not outside, they’re not getting that vitamin D from the sun.
Why It Matters
Neuropathy isn’t just painful. It can lead to other health problems, and it can be expensive to treat. This means that understanding how vitamin D affects neuropathy is really important.
Some past studies have shown that giving vitamin D to patients can improve their neuropathy. This gives hope that maybe increasing vitamin D might help a lot of people.
What Comes Next
Dr. Mussa believes more studies need to be done. She thinks big studies across the UAE could help them better understand the issue.
Maybe in the future, doctors might even suggest vitamin D supplements to help diabetic patients avoid or manage neuropathy.
In short, the connection between vitamin D and diabetes-related nerve damage is becoming clearer, and there’s hope that understanding this link can lead to better treatments.
If you or someone you know has diabetes, it’s good to stay updated on this research.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes, and what you need to know about avocado and type 2 diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about how to eat to prevent type 2 diabetes, and 5 vitamins that may prevent complication in diabetes.
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