100 YEARS OF VITAMIN D: Effect of serum vitamin D level before ovarian stimulation on the cumulative live birth rate of women undergoing in vitro fertilization: a retrospective analysis

Abstract

Objective: Vitamin D receptors are present in the female reproductive tract. Studies on the association between serum vitamin D level and pregnancy rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF) showed inconsistent results and focused on a single fresh or frozen embryo transfer cycle. The objective of our study was to evaluate if serum vitamin D level before ovarian stimulation was associated with the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) of the first IVF cycle. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Women who underwent the first IVF cycle from 2012 to 2016 at a university-affiliated reproductive medicine center were included. Archived serum samples taken before ovarian stimulation were analyzed for 25(OH)D levels using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: 1,113 had pregnancy outcome from the completed IVF cycle. The median age (25th-75th percentile) of the women was 36 (34-38) years and serum 25(OH)D level was 53.4 (41.9-66.6)nmol/L. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (less than 50nmol/L) was 42.2%. The CLBR in the vitamin D deficient group was significantly lower compared to the non-deficient group (43.9%,208/474 vs 50.9%,325/639, p=0.021, unadjusted), and after controlling for women’s age, body mass index, antral follicle count, type and duration of infertility. There were no differences in the clinical/ongoing pregnancy rate, live birth rate and miscarriage rate in the fresh cycle between the vitamin D deficient and non-deficient groups. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency was prevalent in infertile women in subtropical Hong Kong. The CLBR of the first IVF cycle in the vitamin D deficient group was significantly lower compared to the non-deficient group.

Relation between maternal vitamin D level and in vitro-fertilization laboratory outcome in normal responding patients 35 years old or less

“…Our study included 273 cycles divided in to 3 groups according to vitamin d level, the mean age of all patients was 30±3.99, mean BMI was 27 23,24 So, the correlation between vitamin D concentration and IVF outcome was studied extensively in a lot of researches but controversial results have been found about the mechanism of vitamin D effect weather through effect on the gamete and embryos performance or on the endometrium but in all there is an agreement that it affect the implantation and clinical pregnancy outcome as in studies by Justin et al 2019 and Jennifer et al in 2022. 25,26 In our study we could not find any significant relation between vitamin D level and the laboratory outcome which agrees with a study done by Ha et al who concluded that serum vitamin D did not affect the IVF laboratory or clinical outcome and another study done by Jason et al who found that the vitamin D level don't affect the IVF out come in case of transfer euploid blastocyst. 27,28 But in a study done Wals et al found that the vitamin level affects the blastocyst formation rate which is against what we concluded in our study.…”

Vitamin D and follicular recruitment in the in vitro fertilization cycle

“…In a retrospective analysis, Ko et al (2022) found a direct correlation between lower cumulative live birth rates of a single IVF stimulation cycle and deficient plasma 25OH-D levels prior to ovarian stimulation. Despite that, the total number of retrieved oocytes and mature oocytes was similar between both groups, which is the same finding reported in our current research.…”

“…In a retrospective analysis, Ko et al . (2022) found a direct correlation between lower cumulative live birth rates of a single IVF stimulation cycle and deficient plasma 25OH-D levels prior to ovarian stimulation.…”

Do Popular Diets Impact Fertility?

“…The literature on female fertility suggests that vitamin D participates in both ovarian and endometrial function by taking part in follicular development and embryo implantation processes [178,179]. Nevertheless, the correlation between vitamin D and improved reproductive parameters is still ambiguous [180][181][182][183][184]. Findings are contradictory, and studies are heterogeneous because they do not present the same threshold of vitamin D levels and have been performed in different countries.…”