ASSOCIATION OF SERUM VITAMIN E WITH DIABETES IN THE US NATIONAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION EXAMINATION SURVEY (NHANES) 2001-2006

Objective: Although there has long been interested in how vitamin E affects human health, the effect of vitamin E on diabetes is controversial. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum alpha-tocopherol (the main form of vitamin E) and diabetes. Design and method: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2006 included 8240 non-pregnant adults aged over 20 in this cross-sectional study. Participants with invalid data on fasting glucose or glycated haemoglobin, serum vitamin E and covariates, including demographics, socioeconomic status, smoking, alcohol, medical history, and vitamin E supplements, were excluded. Restricted cubic spline and logistic regression were used to examine the association between serum vitamin E with diabetes. Results: 7.3% (95% CI, 6.6-8.0) of participants had diabetes. The mean (± standard error) serum vitamin E was (28.62 ± 0.34) μmol/L. Serum vitamin E greater than 45.8 μmol/L was highly associated with diabetes [OR = 1.56, 95% CI (1.24-1.80), P < 0.01]. Stratified by gender, the cut-off serum vitamin E concentration with an odds ratio less than 1.0 was 41.6 μmol/L for men and 48.5μmol/L for women. The odds ratio for high serum vitamin E (> 41.6μmol/L for men or > 48.5μmol/L for women) associated with diabetes was 1.77 [95% CI (1.35-2.13)] in men and 1.49, [95% CI (1.30-1.72)] in women. Conclusions: High serum vitamin E is associated with diabetes; this association is stronger among men. Prospective research is needed to investigate whether there is a causal relationship.