Vitamin D's potential influence on birth control methods scrutinized in new study
The Lowdown on Vitamin D and Birth Control
Here's an interesting tidbit for ya: Women utilizing estrogen-based birth control pills have been found to have higher levels of circulating vitamin D, whereas those who cease taking these contraceptives experience a significant drop in their vitamin D levels. Let's dive deeper into this fascinating finding.
Vitamin D: The Bone Warden
Vitamin D is a crucial player in maintaining the correct balance of calcium and phosphorous in your blood — essential components for keeping your bones strong and healthy. It also aids in the absorption of calcium, a key ingredient in building those bones of yours.
You can find this vital nutrient in a variety of foods, including fish and eggs, but approximately 90 percent of our vitamin D is produced in our very own skin following exposure to sunlight.
Deficiency: The Bone Breaker
If your body doesn't get enough vitamin D, it can lead to various health issues such as rickets (a softening of the bones in children) and osteomalacia (softening of the bones in adults). And given vitamin D's role in the formation of bones, it's especially important during pregnancy.
Vitamin D and Contraception
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences took a closer look at how taking oral contraceptives might impact vitamin D levels. They conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF), which investigated reproductive health among 1,700 African-American women aged 23-34 living in and around Detroit, MI.
The study asked women about their contraceptive use, time spent outdoors, and any vitamin D supplements they took. In total, 1,662 women provided blood samples for testing their levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, the most common circulating form of vitamin D.
The researchers found that women using contraception containing estrogen tended to have higher vitamin D levels than other women. Even after adjusting for factors like seasonal exposure to light, the effect remained significant.
"Women who were using contraception containing estrogen tended to have higher vitamin D levels than other women," said Dr. Quaker E. Harmon, one of the researchers. "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."
When Planning Pregnancy
These findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, raise concerns about women becoming deficient in vitamin D as they start trying to conceive. Dr. Harmon advises women who plan to stop using birth control to take steps to ensure their vitamin D levels are adequate while trying to conceive and during pregnancy.
Still, the researchers remain unsure about why estrogen-based contraception may affect vitamin D levels. Dr. Harmon suggests that further research is needed to fully understand the relationship between these two compounds.
Implications for African-American Women
While the current study focused solely on African-American women, Dr. Harmon believes that the association between contraceptives and vitamin D levels may not be 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," she says.
Dr. Harmon is continuing to follow the group of women to further investigate the relationship, and she is also working on another group of participants to examine how vitamin D varies across the menstrual cycle.
Key Takeaways
- Estrogen-based contraceptives may boost vitamin D levels, but further research is needed to fully understand the relationship.
- African-American women are at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency due to skin pigmentation, and it's crucial to monitor and address their vitamin D levels.
Straight from the source: Link to the original article
- Additionally, here's some insight from the enrichment data*
Extra Insights
- Estrogen-based contraceptives such as combined oral contraceptives (COCs) contain synthetic estrogen and progestin. These hormones can indirectly affect the availability of nutrients, including vitamin D.
- Estrogen therapy increases certain hormone-binding proteins, but it's uncertain whether this finding applies to cisgender women using oral contraceptives.
- African-American women generally have lower circulating levels of vitamin D due to their higher melanin content in the skin, which reduces cutaneous vitamin D synthesis.
- Estrogen from contraceptives may support bone health by maintaining bone mineral density in some women, but it's still unclear whether synthetic estrogen from contraceptives can independently influence vitamin D status, particularly in African-American women.
- Regardless of contraceptive use, African-American women may benefit from increased attention to their vitamin D intake due to their baseline lower levels and greater risk of deficiency.
- Higher levels of vitamin D are observed in women taking estrogen-based birth control pills, while a significant drop in vitamin D levels is experienced upon ceasing these contraceptives.
- Vitamin D is vital for maintaining the correct balance of calcium and phosphorous in the blood and plays a crucial role in building strong and healthy bones.
- Over 90% of our vitamin D is produced in our skin following exposure to sunlight, but deficiencies can lead to health issues such as rickets and osteomalacia.
- A study involving 1,700 African-American women found that women using contraception containing estrogen had higher vitamin D levels, suggesting that these contraceptives may boost vitamin D levels.
- As estrogen-based contraception may affect vitamin D levels, the relationship between these two compounds requires further research, particularly concerning African-American women who are at a higher risk for vitamin D deficiency due to skin pigmentation.
- The study's findings raise concerns about women becoming deficient in vitamin D as they start trying to conceive, and it is essential for women planning pregnancy to ensure adequate vitamin D levels during that period.
