Do Serum Vitamin D Levels Have Any Effect on Intrauterine Insemination Success?

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that vitamin D has an essential role in the reproductive system. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D levels in patients undergoing ovulation induction (OI), and subsequent intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and four infertile and one hundred and three fertile women were recruited in this cross-sectional study which was conducted in a tertiary level maternity hospital. Infertile patients were divided into pregnant and non-pregnant subgroups after treatment. Individual characteristics and 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3)[25 (OH) D(3)] levels were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The vast majority of our study population consisted of women who had vitamin D deficiency (96.6%). There was no statistically significant difference between infertile and fertile groups in terms of serum 25 (OH) D(3)lev- els (P=0.512). Similarly, no significant difference was observed between the pregnant and non-pregnant subgroups of infertile patients regarding 25 (OH) D(3)levels (P=0.267). CONCLUSION: There is no association between female infertility and serum vitamin D levels. Vitamin D does not pre- dict pregnancy in infertile women undergoing OI with IUI. Further research which will provide a comparison between much more women who have deficient and sufficient 25 (OH) D(3)levels is warranted.