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Effect of vitamin D supplementation on polycystic ovary syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Fang F, Ni K, Cai Y, Shang J, Zhang X, Xiong C

Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 2017

502 participants

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on patients with PCOS.

METHODS: We performed a literature search in database and identified all of the RCTs published before December 2015 that compared the effect of vitamin D supplementation with placebo or metformin in PCOS patients.

MAIN RESULTS: Nine out of 463 identified studies were included, involving 502 women presenting with PCOS. Vitamin D supplementation had significant effect on the improvement of follicular development with a higher number of dominant follicles (OR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.39 to 3.92). Differences in regular menstrual cycles were also observed when metformin plus vitamin D was compared with metformin alone (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.01 to 3.39).

CONCLUSIONS: Evidence from available RCTs suggests vitamin D supplementation may be beneficial for follicular development and menstrual cycle regulation in patients with PCOS. Additional high-quality RCTs are required to confirm the effectiveness of vitamin D on PCOS.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 502 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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