In Related News: Vitamin D May Protect Against the Development of Uterine Fibroids

A recent issue of Epidemiology published an article that reports the finding of vitamin D researcher Bruce W. Hollis and his colleagues of a lower risk of uterine fibroid tumors in women with sufficient levels of vitamin D.* The study evaluated 620 African American women and 416 Caucasian women between the ages of 35 to 49 who were enrolled in the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Uterine Fibroid Study. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured in blood samples collected upon enrollment, and ultrasound examinations ascertained the presence and size of fibroids. Subjects with sufficient serum levels of the vitamin, which the researchers classified as 20 ng/mL or higher, had a 32% lower risk of having fibroids in comparison with those whose levels were sufficient. Each 10 ng/mL increase in vitamin D was associated with a 20% reduction in fibroid risk. —D. Dye

Reference

* Epidemiology. 2013 May;24(3):447-53.