Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and visceral fat area in adults with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional study
- 1Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, China
- 2Department of Endocrinology, Quzhou People’s Hospital; The Quzhou Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, China
Abstract
Objective: To examine the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and visceral fat area in adults with type 2 diabetes and assess the exposure–response pattern.
Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 1271 adults with type 2 diabetes. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was analyzed as a continuous variable and by quartiles. Multivariable linear regression models were sequentially adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, and metabolic factors, with body mass index added separately in the fully adjusted model. A generalized additive model was used to assess the exposure–response relationship. Prespecified subgroup analyses were also performed.
Results: Visceral fat area differed across quartiles of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, with a lower median value in Q4 than in Q1 (87.0 vs. 96.0 cm2; p = 0.002). Higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was associated with lower visceral fat area in the multivariable model without body mass index (β = −0.77, 95% confidence interval: −1.13 to −0.41; p < 0.0001) and in the body mass index-adjusted model (β = −0.53, 95% confidence interval: −0.80 to −0.27; p < 0.0001). In quartile analyses, participants in Q4 had lower visceral fat area than those in Q1 in the body mass index-adjusted model (β = −10.04, 95% confidence interval: −16.19 to −3.89; p = 0.0015), whereas the associations for Q2 and Q3 were not statistically significant; nevertheless, a significant trend was observed across quartiles (p for trend = 0.0005). The generalized additive model suggested an approximately linear inverse association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and visceral fat area.
Conclusions: In adults with type 2 diabetes, higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were associated with lower HDS-2000-estimated visceral fat area, although the association was attenuated after adjustment for body mass index. This cross-sectional association should not be interpreted as independent of overall adiposity or unmeasured lifestyle, comorbidity, and treatment-related factors. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify temporality.
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BibTeX
@article{zhu2026association,
title = {{Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and visceral fat area in adults with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional study}},
author = {Junling Zhu and Xujie Tang and Chunyan Zhu and Yiming Zhang and Zichen Rao and Qianru Zhu and Lulu Zheng},
journal = {The Journal of International Medical Research},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1177/03000605261487246},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605261487246},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and visceral fat area in adults with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional study
AU - Junling Zhu
AU - Xujie Tang
AU - Chunyan Zhu
AU - Yiming Zhang
AU - Zichen Rao
AU - Qianru Zhu
AU - Lulu Zheng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/16
JO - The Journal of International Medical Research
DO - 10.1177/03000605261487246
UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605261487246
AB - Objective: To examine the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and visceral fat area in adults with type 2 diabetes and assess the exposure–response pattern. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 1271 adults with type 2 diabetes. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was analyzed as a continuous variable and by quartiles. Multivariable linear regression models were sequentially adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, and metabolic factors, with body mass index added separately in the fully adjusted model. A generalized additive model was used to assess the exposure–response relationship. Prespecified subgroup analyses were also performed. Results: Visceral fat area differed across quartiles of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, with a lower median value in Q4 than in Q1 (87.0 vs. 96.0 cm2; p = 0.002). Higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was associated with lower visceral fat area in the multivariable model without body mass index (β = −0.77, 95% confidence interval: −1.13 to −0.41; p < 0.0001) and in the body mass index-adjusted model (β = −0.53, 95% confidence interval: −0.80 to −0.27; p < 0.0001). In quartile analyses, participants in Q4 had lower visceral fat area than those in Q1 in the body mass index-adjusted model (β = −10.04, 95% confidence interval: −16.19 to −3.89; p = 0.0015), whereas the associations for Q2 and Q3 were not statistically significant; nevertheless, a significant trend was observed across quartiles (p for trend = 0.0005). The generalized additive model suggested an approximately linear inverse association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and visceral fat area. Conclusions: In adults with type 2 diabetes, higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were associated with lower HDS-2000-estimated visceral fat area, although the association was attenuated after adjustment for body mass index. This cross-sectional association should not be interpreted as independent of overall adiposity or unmeasured lifestyle, comorbidity, and treatment-related factors. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify temporality.
SN - 0300-0605
SN - 1473-2300
ER -