Effect of low‐dose vitamin D supplementation on uterine fibroid size in women with hypovitaminosis D: A nonrandomized pilot study
Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the effect of low‐dose vitamin D supplementation on uterine fibroid (UF) size in patients with hypovitaminosis D.
Methods
This was a single‐center observational study including a prospective interventional cohort and a retrospective comparative cohort. The control group ( n = 16) included retrospective data from patients without vitamin D supplementation who attended two gynecological consultations 6 months apart. The interventional cohort ( n = 15) prospectively received low‐dose vitamin D supplementation (25 000 IU every 2 weeks for 6 months) and serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D levels, UF size and vascularization, and patients' symptoms and quality of life were evaluated at baseline and 3 and 6 months.
Results
In untreated controls, UFs grew significantly in 6 months (67.1 ± 20.2 mm versus 79.4 ± 29.7 mm, P < 0.001). Vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced UFs from 56.9 ± 14.5 mm at baseline to 53.3 ± 13.3 mm after 3 months ( P = 0.03) and 52.2 ± 13.6 mm after 6 months ( P = 0.001). UF vascularity index (5.5 ± 7.5%) and vascularization flow index (2.2 ± 3.4) was significantly lower at month 6 compared with baseline (7.6 ± 9.9% [ P = 0.01] and 3.3 ± 5.4 [ P = 0.009], respectively).
Conclusion
Low‐dose vitamin D supplementation effectively reduced UF size in women with hypovitaminosis D within 6 months, suggesting vitamin D is a promising solution for patients with UFs and hypovitaminosis D.
Clinical Trial Registration
This study was registered on June 17, 2019, and the date of initial participant enrollment was July 9, 2019. NCT03991078, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03991078 .