Vitamin D: Shedding Some Light on Infertility

I've posted on the present epidemic of low vitamin D previously. Now we find yet another association of low levels of Vitamin D - Infetility.

Publishing in the European Journal of Endocrinology, researchers Elizabeth Lerchbaum and Barbara Obermayer-Pietsch performed a systematic review of studies published until October of 2011. A short summary of their results from PubMed:

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) and vitamin D metabolizing enzymes are found in reproductive tissues of women and men. Vdr knockout mice have significant gonadal insufficiency, decreased sperm count and motility, and histological abnormalities of testis, ovary and uterus. Moreover, we present evidence that vitamin D is involved in female reproduction including IVF outcome (clinical pregnancy rates) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In PCOS women, low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels are associated with obesity, metabolic, and endocrine disturbances and vitamin D supplementation might improve menstrual frequency and metabolic disturbances in those women. Moreover, vitamin D might influence steroidogenesis of sex hormones (estradiol and progesterone) in healthy women and high 25(OH)D levels might be associated with endometriosis. In men, vitamin D is positively associated with semen quality and androgen status. Moreover, vitamin D treatment might increase testosterone levels. Testiculopathic men show low CYP21R expression, low 25(OH)D levels, and osteoporosis despite normal testosterone levels.

While more work needs to be done, the impact of Vitamin D on both the male and female reproductive systems is far-reaching and still poorly understood. Stay tuned.

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