Cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) must not be considered as an endocrine disruptor

A French ministerial decree planning to include cholecalciferol, i.e. vitamin D3 (VD3), in the endocrine disruptors (ED) list has generated a lot of concerns in French physicians and scientists. The aim of the present article was to discuss the scientific rationale that may support or not this decision, which seems to be due to the use of VD3 overdose as a rodenticide in some European countries. First, it is noticeable that cholecalciferol is not an “exogenous substance”, a term used in all the definitions of ED, as it is largely synthesized in the skin after UVB rays exposure. Second, we did not find any published article that may support the inclusion of VD3 in the ED list. The request “vitamin D AND endocrine disruptor” reported 33 references in the PubMed database on March, 10, 2022, most of them discussing disturbances of vitamin D metabolism by EDs. Third, a large amount of studies conclude that VD3 has or may have beneficial effects on many functions that are known to be altered by EDs. In addition, we warn that learning that VD3 could be legally considered as a PE may cause the general public to mistrust vitamin D supplementation, which is not desirable in terms of public health as it may increase the already too high prevalence of vitamin D deficient individuals. We consider the aberrant decision of including cholecalciferol in the ED list should be rapidly invalidated before being effective in France and possibly disseminated in the European Union.