Clinical Practice Recommendations for Screening Patients with Type-2 Diabetes for Vitamin D Deficiency: An Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Type-2 diabetes is a nationally growing health concern. Previous literature has implicated that vitamin D deficiency and type-2 diabetes are interconnected. At this time there are no guidelines in place to guide the evaluation or treatment of vitamin D deficiency in type-2 diabetic patients. In order to create up to date guidelines for the treatment and evaluation of vitamin D deficiency in type-2 diabetic patients an integrative literature review was conducted using EMBASE, PubMed, and CINAHL. The literature review resulted in 44 articles that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The literature review resulted in the creation of five clinical recommendations. The most significant change to current clinical standards includes screening all type-2 diabetic patients for vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D supplementation is not recommended for use in treating type-2 diabetes, diabetic complications, or preventing the progression from prediabetes to diabetes. However, type-2 diabetic patients with vitamin D deficiency should be treated with vitamin D supplementation to improve indirect health outcomes and prevent morbidity and mortality.