Abstract
The longitudinal association between vitamin D status and risk of peripheral neuropathy is still undetermined. We aimed to assess the relation of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) with new-onset peripheral neuropathy in participants with and without diabetes at baseline. A total of 386,715 participants from UK Biobank without peripheral neuropathy at baseline were included. Serum concentrations of 25OHD were measured using chemiluminescent immunoassay method. The primary outcome was new-onset peripheral neuropathy. Over a median follow-up duration of 12.0 years, 2742 (0.7%) participants developed new-onset peripheral neuropathy. Overall, serum 25OHD was inversely associated with the risk of new-onset peripheral neuropathy among participants with diabetes (per standard deviation [SD] increment, adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 0.82, 95% confident interval [95% CI]: 0.76-0.89), but significantly attenuated among those without diabetes (per SD increment, adjusted HR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.99; P for interaction between serum 25OHD and diabetes = 0.004). Accordingly, among participants with diabetes, compared with those serum 25OHD <25 nmol/L, a significantly lower risk of new-onset peripheral neuropathy was found in those with 25OHD 25-<50 nmol/L (adjusted HR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.56-0.77), and ≥50 nmol/L (adjusted HR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.50-0.72). Moreover, none of other covariates, including age, sex, body mass index, physical activity, diets, C-reactive protein, glucose, and use of anti-hypertensive drugs significantly modified the association between serum 25OHD and new-onset peripheral neuropathy in those with and without diabetes (all P for interactions >0.05). There was an inverse association between serum 25OHD and new-onset peripheral neuropathy in participants with diabetes. The inverse association was significantly attenuated among participants without diabetes.</p>