Assessment of the effect of serum and follicular fluid vitamin D and glucose on assisted reproductive technique outcome: A cross-sectional study

Robabe Hosseinisadat; Lida Saeed; Anis Ghasemirad; Victoria Habibzadeh; Sedigheh Safar Heidari

doi:10.18502/ijrm.v20i3.10714

Assessment of the effect of serum and follicular fluid vitamin D and glucose on assisted reproductive technique outcome: A cross-sectional study

Int J Reprod Biomed. 2022 Apr 21;20(3):221-230. doi: 10.18502/ijrm.v20i3.10714. eCollection 2021 Mar.

Authors

Robabe Hosseinisadat¹, Lida Saeed¹, Anis Ghasemirad¹, Victoria Habibzadeh¹, Sedigheh Safar Heidari²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
² Afzalipour Infertility Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D and glucose play an important role in the female reproductive system.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of serum and follicular fluid vitamin D on assisted reproductive technique (ART) outcomes.

Materials and methods: 102 infertile women were enrolled in the study. All cases received the routine in vitro fertilization protocol. On the oocyte retrieval day, a sample of their peripheral blood and follicular fluid was obtained to determine the level of vitamin D and glucose. We also evaluated ART outcomes including oocytes, 2 pronucleus and embryo number, implantation, chemical and clinical pregnancy, and abortion rate. Finally, the effect of serum and follicular fluid vitamin D and glucose on the ART outcomes was assessed.

Results: There was no difference in the characteristics, serum vitamin D, follicular fluid vitamin D, fasting blood sugar (FBS), or follicular fluid glucose between the women with vs. without a positive clinical pregnancy. There was no significant difference between the ART outcomes based on vitamin D level. The mean follicular fluid glucose levels in women who were deficient, insufficient and sufficient in vitamin D were 65.20 $\pm$ 14.65, 63.47 $\pm$ 14.90 and 55.97 $\pm$ 15.64, respectively. Follicular fluid glucose was lower in women with sufficient vitamin D levels and this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.01). There was no relationship between the three follicular fluid vitamin D levels and ART outcomes. In women with normal FBS levels, the level of follicular fluid vitamin D was significantly lower than in the women with pre-diabetic FBS status (p $<$ 0.001).

Conclusion: The present study showed that serum vitamin D level, follicular fluid vitamin D level, FBS, and follicular fluid sugar were not predictive parameters for ART outcomes.

Keywords: Assisted reproductive techniques.; Follicular fluid; Glucose; Pregnancy; Vitamin D.