Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and ovarian reserve in premenopausal women

Vitamin D has been linked to antimüllerian hormone levels, suggesting a possible association with greater ovarian reserve, but large population-based studies are lacking. Our objective was to explore the association between vitamin D and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in premenopausal women.

The Uterine Fibroid Study (1996-1999) enrolled randomly selected 30- to 49-year-old members of a Washington, DC, health plan (N = 1,430). Women provided blood and urine samples in addition to questionnaire data. The vitamin D metabolite 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured in stored plasma samples. Urinary FSH (mIU/mg creatinine) was measured by immunofluorometric assay. To obtain baseline measures, we limited this investigation to urine samples collected in the first 5 days of the menstrual cycle or 5 days before menses onset. In addition, postmenopausal women and women using oral contraceptives were excluded, leaving 527 women for analysis. FSH was creatinine-adjusted, normalized by log transformation, and modeled with multivariable linear regression.

The median 25(OH)D level was 12 ng/mL, with approximately 75% of participants below the recommended level of 20 ng/mL. FSH and 25(OH)D were inversely related. For every 10-ng/mL increase in 25(OH)D, urinary FSH decreased by 14% (95% CI, -23 to -5; P = 0.003).

Vitamin D is inversely related to FSH. This is consistent with literature relating low vitamin D levels to lower antimüllerian hormone levels. Prospective studies should investigate whether low vitamin D levels contribute to decreased ovarian reserve.