Control of steroid-induced diabetes with supplemental chromium

✍ Scribed by Alexander Ravina; Ladislav Slezak; Nitsa Mirsky; Richard A. Anderson

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 18 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0896-548X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-670x(1999)12:4<375::aid-jtra11>3.0.co;2-r

✦ Synopsis

Corticosteroid treatment leads to decreased insulin sensitivity, impaired glucose tolerance, and/or diabetes as well as increased losses of the essential nutrient, chromium [Ravina et al., Diabetes Med, 1999]. Since supplemental chromium leads to improved glucose levels and increased insulin sensitivity in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes, we supplemented 50 patients with steroid-induced diabetes with supplemental chromium, 200 g of Cr as chromium picolinate three times per day. Within 1 week of supplemental chromium, blood glucose values of 47 of 50 patients with uncontrolled steroid-induced diabetes decreased from >13.9 mmol L -1 (250 mg dL -1 ) to <8.3 mmol L -1 (150 mg dL -1 ). Oral hypoglycemic medications and/or insulin were reduced one-half in patients prior to the initiation of supplemental chromium. These data demonstrate that chromium may be beneficial in the control of steroid-induced diabetes.