Vitamin d deficiency and fertility: An overview

Abstract

In recent years the interest in vitamin D is steadily growing. Numerous scientific publications and health guidebooks for the public have been published. Besides the well-known effects on calcium and bone metabolism, a positive impact of the sunshine vitamin on human wellbeing and health has been proposed. A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency according to established optimal values has been described, although no increase of the classical diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency, e.g., rachitis and osteomalacia, has been observed. Besides infants and the elderly, populations at risk include women of childbearing age. The discovery that human tissues with a role in reproductive function, e.g., ovaries, endometrium, and placenta, express the vitamin D receptor and enzymes involved in vitamin D metabolism, has provoked studies on the role of vitamin D in reproductive health. While observational studies suggest an association between low vitamin D status and impaired reproductive outcomes, there are only few high quality randomized clinical trials available that could prove causality. This chapter summarizes the current knowledge on vitamin D metabolism, epidemiology, and treatment of vitamin D deficiency with focus on women's reproductive health.