Relationship between endometriosis and vitamin D status - a review

Marta Paliga, Stanisław Horák
In: Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology · 2019 · vol. 46(5) , pp. 674–678 · doi:10.12891/ceog4936.2019 · W3036868061
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This review explores the conflicting evidence regarding vitamin D levels in endometriosis patients, highlighting the need for further research to define its relationship with the disease.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This paper is a narrative review of how vitamin D influences female genital tract biology, reproductive function, and specifically the incidence and development of endometriosis, synthesizing epidemiologic and mechanistic evidence about vitamin D metabolism (serum 25(OH)D, VDR signaling, immune modulation) and findings from case-control and related studies. Across reviewed studies, vitamin D status results in endometriosis are inconsistent: some report no differences in 25(OH)D between patients and healthy controls, while others find altered vitamin D concentrations and/or elevated VDR expression in endometriotic tissue, and one study reported higher 1,25(OH)2D in patients, suggesting differences in vitamin D metabolism. A key limitation is that the literature is heterogeneous and conflicting, and the review explicitly concludes that a direct, defined link between vitamin D status and endometriosis predisposition or severity has not been established. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it reviews evidence relating vitamin D status, VDR signaling, and endometriosis incidence/severity, highlighting inconsistent clinical findings.

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Abstract

The impact of vitamin D on multiple biological processes is nowadays widely accepted. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with many diseases, including cardiovascular and neurological diseases, as well as with immune system function and its role during infections. An influence of vitamin D on the reproductive functions of women and men has been also reported. Endometriosis is one of the conditions responsible for infertility in women, and the contribution of vitamin D on the development of the disease has been investigated. Yet, a direct link between predisposition to endometriosis or severity of the disease and vitamin D status has not been defined. Some studies report no changes in vitamin D levels in endometriosis patients, compared to healthy controls, while others show a significant increase or decrease in vitamin D concentration in women suffering from endometriosis. Therefore, further studies are needed to establish the relationship between endometriosis and vitamin D status, which may be useful in designing vitamin D supplementation schedules for endometriosis patients, or in monitoring women at risk of developing the disease.

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endometriosisinfertility

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Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

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