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Background and Aim: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and vitamin D deficiency are both too common during menopause. Since the effect of different doses of vitamin D supplements on blood sugar, insulin concentration  and insulin resistance are unknown, the present study aimed at investigating the effects of different doses of the vitamin D supplements on visceral fat, blood sugar, insulin concentration,  and insulin resistance in ovariectomized rats.

Materials and Methods: In this randomized experimental study, 32 female Wistar rats were divided into 4 equal groups  as follows: three groups . that received vitamin D supplements (high, moderate, and low dose) and one control group. After 8 weeks of different doses of vitamin D supplementation plasma concentration of glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR were measured  in the three groups. The obtained data  was statistically analyzed by means of dependent t-test and ANOVA . at the significance level of P<0.05.

Results: After a period of eight-week  intervention, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, visceral fat, insulin, blood glucose and HOMA-IR at high, moderate, and low doses of vitamin D supplementation were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). High dose of vitamin D compared with moderate and low doses significantly caused reduction in insulin, blood glucose, and HOMA-IR (P<0.001 for all three variables).

Conclusion: The findings of the current study showed that a high dose of vitamin D causes significant improvements in FPG, insulin, and insulin resistance  evaluated by HOMA-IR. It was also found that adding vitamin D supplements can improve glucose control in menopause model of rats.