SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1634664
The effect of vitamin D supplementation on cardiometabolic components and sex hormone profiles in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted- Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
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Introduction: Vitamin D has been found to alleviate symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study aims to evaluate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on key PCOS-related parameters, with a particular focus on cardiovascular risk factors and hormonal balance. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify relevant studies published up to January 30, 2024, using databases including Cochrane, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and Ovid. Weighted mean differences (WMDs) were analyzed using a random-effects model. Results: Thirty-three studies were included in the present systematic review and meta-analysis. Our findings showed that vitamin D administration was significantly associated with a reduction in weight (WMD = -1.26; 95% CI: -1.88, -0.64, P-value <0.001), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (WMD: -0.85; 95% CI: -1.15, -0.56, P-value <0.001), fasting insulin (WMD = -2.78; 95% CI: -5.31, -0.24, P-value = 0.036), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (WMD = -0.71; 95% CI: -1.24, -0.18, P-value = 0.011), total cholesterol (TC) (WMD: -14.02; 95% CI: -26.15, -1.88, P-value = 0.039), triglyceride (TG) (WMD: -16.03; 95% CI: -24.63, -7.43, P-value = 0.001), testosterone (WMD: -0.28; 95% CI: -0.48, -0.09, P-value = 0.024), and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) (WMD = -0.22; 95% CI: -0.43, -0.01, P-value = 0.041). Also, it was significantly associated with higher levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) (WMD: 6.86; 95% CI: 0.91, 12.81, P-value = 0.041). Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation significantly reduces weight, hs-CRP, HOMA-IR, fasting insulin, TC, TG, testosterone, and DHEA levels in women with PCOS. In addition, it is significantly associated with increased levels of SHBG. More high-quality, large-scale trials are needed to provide stronger evidence.
Keywords: Vitamin D, supplementation, polycystic, pcos, Ovary, metabolic syndrome, randomized controlled trial
Received: 24 May 2025; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yu, Xiao and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yanxia Yu, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
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