Association between vitamin D and endometriosis: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases of reproductive age, with a prevalence of 5-10% and grave consequences for quality of life and fertility. Vitamin D (vit D), a classic regulator of plasma calcium concentration and skeleton mineralization, is also an effective modulator of the immune system. Several studies suggest that immunologic properties attributed to vit D along with vit D receptor (VDR) expression in reproductive tissues may be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. OBJECTIVE To systematically review the literature for the association between components of vit D metabolism and endometriosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A systematic review of the literature published in the Medline and Cochrane Central databases was conducted for original research articles on humans, published in any language. RESULTS Twenty-one studies were included in the systematic review. Among them, 12 examined the relationship of endometriosis with vit D metabolites, eight with vit D-binding protein (VDBP), three with VDR polymorphisms, and two with vit D regulatory enzymes. There are discrepancies between the outcomes of the available literature publications. CONCLUSIONS This is a systematic attempt to collect, evaluate, and present the known data on the association between vit D and endometriosis. Given the heterogeneity and the diversity of the present studies, more research is required to elucidate the association between vit D and endometriosis.