Relation Between Dietary Calcium and Vitamin D and Risk of Diabetes and Cancer: A Review and Perspective

REVIEW ARTICLE

Mitsuhiko Noda¹ and Tetsuya Mizoue²

Affiliations: ¹Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Medicine, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan and ²Department of Epidemiology and International Health, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT

The number of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus has been increasing worldwide. In experimental animal studies, calcium and vitamin D have been shown to improve pancreatic b-cell function and peripheral insulin sensitivity and several epidemiologic findings, including our own, have shown that calcium and vitamin D intake may have a preventive effect against type 2 diabetes. Evidence has also accumulated in support of a protective role of calcium and vitamin D against carcinogenesis of several types of cancers. Intriguingly, diabetes has been revealed to be a cancer risk factor in recent years, and we have reported crucial data in regard to this issue based on a longitudinal survey of a middle-aged and older Japanese population. In this brief review article, we attempt to elucidate the fundamental relationship between dietary calcium and vitamin D intake and the risk of diabetes and cancer, and we propose a model to provide new insight into mechanisms of pathogenesis of these lifestyle-related diseases.

Keywords: calcium, vitamin D, type 2 diabetes, cancer, colorectal cancer

Correspondence: Mitsuhiko Noda, Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Medicine, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-2-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan. Tel: +81 3 3202 7181; Fax: +81 3 3207 1038; e-mail: mnoda@hosp.ncgm.go.jp