Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, affects up to 10 percent of women of childbearing age. PCOS was first described in women whose ovaries were filled with cysts that secreted excessive amounts of both female and male hormones. However, your ovaries can make too many hormones even if they don't contain cysts, so ovarian cysts are not always found in women with PCOS. The overproduction of estrogens and androgens accounts for the metabolic and physical abnormalities that are characteristic of PCOS. Vitamin D3 may alleviate some of the metabolic problems associated with this disorder.
Signs, Symptoms and Complications
Women with PCOS usually have irregular menstrual cycles. Many do not menstruate at all, and infertility is common. Mild obesity, acne and hirsutism -- excessive growth of body hair -- are hallmarks of PCOS. Elevated estrogen levels increase your risk for uterine and other estrogen-dependent cancers. High androgen levels are responsible for hirsutism, which is mainly a cosmetic problem, but they also contribute to insulin resistance, abdominal obesity and abnormal lipid levels, which can eventually lead to metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease.
Metabolic Syndrome
In the 1980s, physicians first described a constellation of traits -- abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and blood lipid abnormalities -- that seemed to increase their patients' risk for developing diabetes and heart disease. If you have any three of these traits, you have what is now called "metabolic syndrome." PCOS dramatically increases your chances for developing metabolic syndrome, and one of the goals of treatment for PCOS is to control these metabolic derangements. Vitamin D3 could prove useful in this regard.
Vitamin D3
A study published in the April 2010 issue of "Journal of Endocrinological Investigation" suggested that many women with PCOS are vitamin D deficient, and vitamin D3 therapy -- a single oral dose of 300,000 IU was used in this trial -- enhances insulin sensitivity in PCOS patients. Similarly, a May 2011 study published in the same journal demonstrated improved insulin sensitivity and menstrual regularity among 57 PCOS patients who received 20,000 IU of vitamin D3 weekly for 24 weeks. Neither trial demonstrated any significant changes in androgen levels, but some other parameters of metabolic syndrome -- triglyceride levels, for example -- were improved by vitamin D3 treatment.
Considerations
Vitamin D3 is not currently widely accepted as a treatment modality for polycystic ovary syndrome. However, clinical trials suggest that many women with PCOS are vitamin D deficient and that supplementation with vitamin D3 alleviates some of the metabolic abnormalities of this disorder. Specifically, vitamin D3 improves insulin sensitivity, thereby decreasing your risk for metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease, all of which contribute to the long-term complications of PCOS. If you have PCOS, your doctor can measure your vitamin D level and help you decide if you need supplemental vitamin D3.
References
- "American Family Physician"; Drug Treatments for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; L. Radosh; April 2009
- "American Family Physician"; Metabolic Syndrome: Time for Action; D. Deen; June 2004
- "Journal of Endocrinological Investigation"; The Effect of Vitamin D Replacement Therapy on Insulin Resistance and Androgen Levels in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; H. Selimoglu, et al.; April 2010
- "Journal of Endocrinological Investigation"; Effect of Vitamin D3 Treatment on Glucose Metabolism and Menstrual Frequency in PCOS Women -- A Pilot Study; E. Wehr, et al.; May 2011
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