Vitamin D and benign gynaecological diseases: a critical analysis of the current evidence

Abstract

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble pro-hormone that plays an important role in bone homeostasis; beside this principal function, vitamin D promotes modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation. In addition, several in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency could increase the risk of cancer, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, vitamin D plays also an important role in female reproduction, because vitamin D receptors are expressed in ovarian tissue, endometrium, fallopian epithelial cells as well as in decidua and placenta. We aimed to review the most updated evidence, which suggests a link between vitamin D metabolism and the development of some gynaecological diseases, such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Chinese abstract

维生素D是一种在骨内稳态中起重要作用的脂溶性激素原，除此重要功能外，维生素D还能促进细胞生长，增加神经肌肉和免疫功能，并能减少炎症发生。此外，一些体外和体内研究表明:维生素D缺乏可以增加癌症、自身免疫和心血管疾病的风险。而且，维生素D在女性生殖功能中也起着重要作用，因为维生素D受体在卵巢组织、子宫内膜、输卵管上皮细胞以及蜕膜和胎盘中表达。我们旨在回顾最新证据，这些证据表明维生素D的新陈代谢和一些妇科疾病如子宫内膜异位症、子宫肌瘤及多囊卵巢综合症的发展之间存在关系。

• Endometriosis
• overdiagnosis
• polycystic ovary syndrome
• uterine fibroids
• vitamin D

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.