An international team of multidisciplinary experts led by Prof. LIU Gang from the School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) has developed the first-ever consensus report on micronutrient requirements for individuals with type 2 diabetes. Published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the report provides a critical framework for the formulation of nutrition therapy guidelines and the standardization of clinical practice across the globe.

The consensus, titled “Addressing Micronutrient Requirements in Type 2 Diabetes: An International Consensus Report,” was co-authored by leading scholars from 12 countries, including members of the US National Academy of Medicine, Prof. Walter Willett and JoAnn Manson from Harvard University. It addresses a significant gap in existing diabetes management guidelines, which have largely focused on macronutrients and dietary patterns despite evidence that virtually half of patients with type 2 diabetes suffer from micronutrient deficiencies.

Drawing on a rigorously modified Delphi process, the expert panel developed 18 consensus statements. Key findings highlight that patients with type 2 diabetes may have distinct micronutrient needs that are different from the general population. For instance, the optimal serum vitamin D level for reducing cardiovascular risk in these patients is roughly 60 nmol/L, slightly higher than standard recommendations. The report also recommends cautious use of calcium supplements, citing potential cardiovascular risks, and emphasizes the need for improved vitamin B12 screening in patients taking metformin.

The consensus identifies critical research gaps and calls for high-quality studies across diverse populations to clarify dose-response relationships. It also advocates for integrating multi-omic technologies and artificial intelligence to develop personalized nutrition strategies tailored to the genetic and metabolic profiles of individual patients.

Prof. Liu’s team has previously published extensive evidence on micronutrients and diabetes outcomes in leading journals including Diabetes Care, PLoS Medicine, and JAMA Network Open. This consensus is expected to guide future clinical practice and policy development in diabetes nutrition therapy.

The report’s co-first authors include graduate students XIA Jiawei and GE Zhenghao from HUST’s School of Public Health. The work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.