'Vitamin breakthrough on diabetes'

8th August 2007 three newspapers reported that a lack of vitamin B1 has been linked to vascular disease in people with diabetes. The newspapers reflected the conclusions of a case-control study, however, given the prevalence of diabetes, this was a small study on which to base such strong conclusions.

• On 8th August 2007, three newspapers (1-3) reported that a lack of vitamin B1 has been linked to vascular disease in people with diabetes.

• The research, published in Diabetologia , was a small case-control study involving 94 people (26 type 1 diabetes; 48 type 2 diabetes; 20 controls). Plasma thiamine levels were 76% lower in people with type 1 diabetes, and 75% lower in people with type 2 diabetes compared to controls. Urinary excretion, renal clearance and fractional excretion of thiamine were all substantially increased in those with diabetes.

• The newspaper reports generally provided an accurate overview of the results of the study. The Daily Express (3) reported a 75% decrease in the risk of kidney problems with a thiamine supplement 300 times greater than that naturally derived from the diet; these data were not presented in the study. The study involved 94 people and given the prevalence of type 1 and 2 diabetes, this was a small number of people on which to base such strong conclusions.

Evaluation of the evidence base for low plasma thiamine concentrations in diabetics as a marker of vascular disease.

Where does the evidence come from?

The study was conducted by Dr Thornalley and colleagues from the Department of Biological sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK; the Clinical Sciences Research Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry; the Colchester General Hospital, Colchester; and the Ipswich Diabetic Foot Unit and Diabetes Centre, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, Ipswich, UK. The project was funded by Diabetes UK.

References and resources

1. Vitamin B1 shortage linked to diabetes damage. The Daily Telegraph, 08 August 2007, p10.

2. Vitamin breakthrough on diabetes. Daily Mail, 8 August 2007, p5.

3. A daily pill for all diabetes sufferers. Daily Express, 8 August 2007, p17.

( Source National Library for Health)

I have just been looking through my cupboard for that old bottle of brewers yeast tablets..*Smiles.