{"id":9058,"date":"2017-04-26T11:19:24","date_gmt":"2017-04-26T15:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miamiobgyn.co\/?p=9058"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:57:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:57:49","slug":"intriguing-link-vitamin-d-birth-control-uncovered-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/miami-obgyn\/news\/intriguing-link-vitamin-d-birth-control-uncovered-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Intriguing link between vitamin D and birth control uncovered"},"content":{"rendered":"
Researchers find that women who are taking estrogen-based birth control pills have higher quantities of circulating vitamin D; similarly, women who stop taking these contraceptives face a significant drop in vitamin D levels.<\/header>\n
\"[Pregnant
\nVitamin D’s relationship with estrogen is throwing out fresh questions.<\/em><\/div>\n

Vitamin D’s<\/a> primary role is to maintain the correct calcium<\/a> and phosphorous levels in the blood.<\/p>\n

It also helps the body absorb calcium, an essential component of bones.<\/p>\n

Foods including fish and eggs are high in vitamin D<\/a>, however, around 90 percent of vitamin<\/a> D is produced in the skin through a chemical reaction after exposure to sunlight.<\/p>\n

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets<\/a> and osteomalacia (softening of the bones).<\/p>\n

Because vitamin D is vital in the formation of bones, it is particularly important during pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Dr. Quaker E. Harmon, of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC, decided to investigate any changes in vitamin D levels associated with taking oral contraceptives.<\/p>\n

Vitamin D and contraception<\/h2>\n

The researchers carried out a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF), an investigation of reproductive health. The project used almost 1,700 African-American women living in and around Detroit, MI, aged 23-34.<\/p>\n

The study asked women about their contraceptive use and included questions about the amount of time they spent outside and any vitamin D supplements they took.<\/p>\n

In total, 1,662 women<\/a> gave blood samples to ascertain levels of the most common circulating form of vitamin D, called 25-hydroxy vitamin D.<\/p>\n

During pregnancy, women produce increased levels of the active form of vitamin D to support the growth of the fetal skeleton. Because of this, pregnant women have an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency and, therefore, a heightened risk of developing bone problems.<\/p>\n

“Our study found that women who were using contraception<\/a> containing estrogen<\/a> tended to have higher vitamin D levels than other women.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Quaker E. Harmon<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Even after controlling for confounding factors, such as seasonal exposure to light, the effect remained significant.<\/p>\n

“We could not find any behavioral differences such as increased time spent outdoors to explain the increase,” said Dr. Harmon. “Our findings suggest that contraceptives containing estrogen tend to boost vitamin D levels, and those levels are likely to fall when women cease using contraception.”<\/p>\n

After adjustments for confounding variables, the use of contraceptive pills, patches, or rings containing estrogen was associated with 20 percent higher levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the same time, current users of birth control had higher levels of vitamin D, and past users had average vitamin D levels.<\/p>\n

Vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy<\/h2>\n

These findings, published this week in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism<\/em>, mean that, as a woman starts trying to become pregnant, she runs the risk of becoming deficient in vitamin D. Dr. Harmon adds some advice:<\/p>\n

“For women who are planning to stop using birth control, it is worth taking steps to ensure that vitamin D levels are adequate while trying to conceive and during pregnancy.”<\/p>\n

Medical News Today<\/em> asked Dr. Harmon why estrogen-based contraception might affect vitamin D levels, and she said:<\/p>\n

“We do not know why vitamin D levels are higher. Other work suggests that the levels of other vitamin D metabolites are changed when women use estrogen-containing contraception. This suggests that there may be alterations in the metabolism of vitamin D. Further work is needed.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Quaker E. Harmon<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The current study looked solely at African-American women; MNT<\/em> asked Dr. Harmon whether race might play a role in this effect. She said:<\/p>\n

“The same association has been observed in young and older women who are not African-American, so we believe this association is not related to race. In the United States, African-American women are more likely to be vitamin D-deficient, so small increases or decreases in their vitamin D concentrations may be more important.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Harmon also told MNT<\/em> that she is continuing to follow this group of women to further investigate the relationship. Additionally, she is working on another group of participants to investigate how vitamin D varies across the menstrual cycle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers find that women who are taking estrogen-based birth control pills have higher quantities of circulating vitamin D; similarly, women<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":9180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t\n