Association of vitamin D deficiency with diabetic gastroparesis and its intramuscular vitamin D treatment

Introduction: Diabetic gastroparesis (DGp) is a component of autonomic neuropathy resulting from long-standing poorly controlled type 1 and type 2 diabetes. There are currently no approved vitamin D supplementation recommendations for people with DGp. Objectives: To investigate the relationship between vitamin D insufficiency and DGp, as well as the efficacy of intramuscular vitamin D therapy. Methodology: 71 patients (18 DM Gp & 53 Non-DM Gp) seeking treatment for gastroparesis symptoms were studied. The blood levels of vitamin D, homocysteine, gastric emptying test (GET) at 1, 2, and 4 h were recorded. 25-OH vitamin D levels were detected by kit. Potential clinical and statistical correlations between all results, symptoms, and GET data were explored. Descriptive statistics were used to investigate etiologic differences at baseline while multiple linear regression models were employed to explore relationships of vitamin D deficiency with diabetic gastroparesis and its intramuscular vitamin D treatment. Results: Majority of DGp patients were older than 18 years (88%) and were non-smokers (83%). The majority of those with and without diabetes were married (11; 71% vs. 34; 64%). The majority of participants in the DM group had only completed elementary school (n=7/18; 38.8%).