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SEARCH: Nutritional factors could preserve beta-cell function
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Branched-chain amino acids and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids administered to youth with recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes could spur beta-cell function preservation, according to researchers.
The SEARCH Nutrition Ancillary Study used data from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study and included 1,316 youth with autoantibody-positive type 1 diabetes. At baseline, 656 patients included in the longitudinal analysis demonstrated preserved beta-cell function.
Elizabeth J. Mayer-Davis, PhD, of the department of nutrition and department of medicine at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues prospectively evaluated nutritional exposures (ie, breast-feeding and age of introduction to complementary foods, baseline plasma long-chain omega-3 fatty acids including eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA]; docosahexaenoic acid [DHA], vitamin D, vitamin E, estimated intake of the branched-chain amino acid leucine and total carbohydrate) in relation to fasting C-peptide (FCP).
Elizabeth J. Mayer-Davis
According to data, 58% of patients included in the longitudinal analysis lost beta-cell function at 2-year follow-up. Additionally, baseline EPA (P=.02), EPA plus DHA (P=.03) and leucine (P=.03) were significantly associated with FCP at follow-up.
“Surprisingly, higher levels of plasma vitamin D at baseline were associated significantly with lower levels of follow-up FCP, even after adjustments for covariates,” researchers wrote.
Further, the researchers reported that breast-feeding was not associated with FCP at baseline or follow-up.
“These novel results can be used to design future studies to establish the efficacy and effectiveness of nutritional approaches to support preservation of beta-cell function among youth with recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes,” researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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