Can vitamin D help infertile couples conceive?
NHS Choices Behind the Headlines, 2012
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A “sunny break may be alternative to IVF,” the Daily Mail has reported. The newspaper said that sunlight can increase levels of vitamin D, which balances sex hormones in women and improves sperm count in men.
It added that a study found some couples "may be undergoing unnecessary and costly fertility treatment when spending time in the sun could be the answer".
The news is based on a systematic review of any kind of scientific study that was related to vitamin D and fertility.
The review found that there was a lack of human studies, particularly controlled human studies, which had looked at the effect of vitamin D on fertility.
This review therefore mostly looked at animal laboratory and observational studies and it is not clear what the implications of this basic research is for infertile couples without further follow up with human studies.
The basic research showed that vitamin D plays a role in biological processes in sperm and ovary cells and may affect levels of sex hormones.
The cause of a couple’s infertility is usually determined prior to IVF or other fertility treatments.
It is not possible to say, as the Daily Mail has suggested, whether spending time in the sun would prevent the need for fertility treatments, without assessing the cause.
The study was carried out by researchers from The Medical University of Graz in Austria and was funded by two Austrian governmental agencies and the Styrian Business Promotion Agency
The Daily Mail accurately reported some of the findings of this review but overemphasised the relevance to infertile couples.
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