Vitamin D Deficiency and Ovarian Reserve Among Infertile Patients

Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel

Status: Completed

Conditions: Infertility

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01999608

2013/180

Details and patient eligibility

About

The role of vitamin D deficiency in female reproduction remains controversial. Early retrospective studies were inconsistent regarding the effect of serum 25-OH vitamin D levels on pregnancy rates in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), whereas two retrospective studies postulated that vitamin D deficiency may negatively affect pregnancy rates with an effect mediated through the endometrium.

Taking into account that knock-out experiments have shown that vitamin D receptor null mice not only experience uterine hypoplasia but also impaired folliculogenesis, it might be hypothesized that vitamin D deficiency may have a detrimental effect on female ovarian reserve. This may be further supported by previous reports demonstrating that serum 25-OH Vitamin D levels correlates with antimullerian hormone (AMH) levels in women of advanced reproductive age.

The aim of this study is to examine through a large set of prospectively recruited infertile women whether serum 25-OH-Vitamin D levels is related with the 2 most widely accepted biomarkers of ovarian reserve: serum AMH levels and antral follicle count (AFC).

Enrollment: 283 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 42 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

infertile women less than 42 years old, undergoing their first treatment cycle in our institution

Exclusion criteria

vitamin D supplements, taking medication for systematic disease or having potential iatrogenic (e.g. ovarian surgery, gonadotoxic therapy) or known genetic cause of ovarian loss

Trial design

283 participants in 2 patient groups

Vitamin D deficient patients

Description:

Serum 25-OH Vitamin D levels \<20ng/L

Vitamin D sufficient patients

Description:

Serum 25-OH Vitamin D levels ≥20ng/L