Fertility and sperm

See also:
Overview Women and Vitamin D
Overview Pregnancy and vitamin D    Fertility and Vitamin D – several articles
Endometriosis
Ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby - take Vitamin D before conception
IVF OR "IN VITRO FERTILIZATION" etc. in 18 Vitamin D Life titles

Vitamin D greatly improves Fertility

• Vitamin D is needed for human fertility – goal is 50 ng – Sept 2018
• In-vitro Fertilization costs at least 10,000 dollars, Vitamin D costs 5 dollars
• Infertile patients 1.7X more-likely to become pregnant if take Vitamin D – meta-analysis Feb 2023
• Live birth 1.7 X more likely after IVF if good level of vitamin D – meta-analysis Aug 2020
• If diagnosed infertile, more likely to have live birth if Vitamin D fortification – Feb 2020
• Preconception vitamin D is great - every extra 10 ng associated with 10 percent more likely to have live birth – Aug 2018
• Women with more than minimum vitamin D were 3.4 X more likely to achieve pregnancy and 1.6 X more likely to have live births – June 2017
• Assisted Reproduction – 5 studies concluded vitamin D repletion helps – Review March 2015
• Pregnancy success increased 30 percent if sunny (or vitamin D) one month earlier – June 2015
• IVF 4X more successful for white women with lots of vitamin D – many studies

Increased male Vitamin D increases fertility

• Birth rates doubled with Vitamin D - 300,000 for infertile men – RCT Nov 2017
• Conception was 3.7X more likely if the male had a good level of Vitamin D – July 2022
• Far better sperm in fertility clinic if more than 30 ng of Vitamin D - June 2022
• Fertility (sperm) associated with vitamin D – meta-analysis Sept 2019
• Infertility - 71 percent of the time of BOTH partners had less than 20 ng of Vitamin D – Aug 2017
• Male fertility 4 X higher if high Vitamin D – Nov 2015
• Vitamin D somewhat assists reproduction – both the mother and the father – May 2014

Decreased Fertility if decreased Vitamin D Receptor

• Unexplained infertility 4X more likely if poor vitamin D receptor – Dec 2020
• Male Infertility is associated with poor Vitamin D Receptor – July 2021

18+ Vitamin D Life pages have IVF or IN VITRO FERTILIZATION etc. in the title

This list is automatcially updated

7 Items in both of the categories Intervention AND Fertility/Sperm

134 Fertility items

Improved male fertility if increased Vitamin D and/or Calcium - Dec 2023

Calcium and vitamin D homoeostasis in male fertility
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, Page 1 of 14 doi:10.1017/S002966512300486X
Sam Kafai Yahyavi1,2, Ida Marie Boisen1,2, Zhihui Cui1,2, Mads Joon Jorsal1,2, Ireen Kooij1,2,
Rune Holt1,2, Anders Juul3,4,5 and Martin Blomberg Jensen1,2

Calcium and vitamin D have well-established roles in maintaining calcium balance and bone health. Decades of research in human subjects and animals have revealed that calcium and vitamin D also have effects on many other organs including male reproductive organs. The presence of calcium-sensing receptor, vitamin D receptor, vitamin D activating and inacti­vating enzymes and calcium channels in the testes, male reproductive tract and human spermatozoa suggests that vitamin D and calcium may modify male reproductive function. Functional animal models have shown that vitamin D deficiency in male rodents leads to a decrease in successful mating and fewer pregnancies, often caused by impaired sperm motil­ity and poor sperm morphology. Human studies have to a lesser extent validated these findings; however, newer studies suggest a positive effect of vitamin D supplementation on semen quality in cases with vitamin D deficiency, which highlights the need for initiatives to prevent vitamin D deficiency. Calcium channels in male reproductive organs and sperm­atozoa contribute to the regulation of sperm motility and capacitation, both essential for successful fertilisation, which supports a need to avoid calcium deficiency. Studies have demonstrated that vitamin D, as a regulator of calcium homoeostasis, influences calcium influx in the testis and spermatozoa. Emerging evidence suggests a potential link between vitamin D deficiency and male infertility, although further investigation is needed to estab­lish a definitive causal relationship. Understanding the interplay between vitamin D, calcium and male reproductive health may open new avenues for improving fertility outcomes in men.
 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

Vitamin D is significantly associated with male fertility and sperm quality - meta-analyses 2019 and 2023

The association between serum vitamin D, fertility and semen quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis - Nov 2019
International Journal of Surgery Vol 71, Nov 2019, Pages 101-109https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2019.09.025 FREE PDF
The Association between Serum Vitamin D Levels and Male Fertility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Aug 2023
Andrologia Vol 2023 | Article ID 9002938 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/9002938 FREE PDF

600,000 IU of vitamin D a few weeks for women before IVF did not help - RCT April 2021

Single oral dose of vitamin D3 supplementation prior to in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer in normal weight women: the SUNDRO randomized controlled trial
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2021.04.234

Background: Improving in vitro fertilization (IVF) success is an unmet need. Observational studies suggested that women with deficient or insufficient vitamin D have lower chances of success, but whether supplementation improves clinical pregnancy rate is unclear.

Objective: To determine whether oral vitamin D3 supplementation may improve clinical pregnancy in women undergoing an IVF cycle

Study design: The SUNDRO trial is a two-centers randomized superiority double-blind placebo controlled trial. Subjects were recruited between October 2016 and January 2019. Participants were women aged 18-39 years with low vitamin D (peripheral 25-hydroxyvitamin D < 30 ng/ml), serum calcium ≥ 10.6 mg/dl, body-mass index (BMI) 18-25 Kg/m2, anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) levels > 0.5 ng/ml, starting their first, second, or third treatment cycle of conventional IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The primary outcome was the cumulative clinical pregnancy rate per cycle. Pregnancies obtained with both fresh or frozen embryo transfers were included. Clinical pregnancy was defined as intrauterine gestational sac with viable fetus. The primary analysis was performed according to the intention to treat principle and could also include natural conceptions. Secondary outcomes included total dose of gonadotropins used, embryological variables (number of oocytes retrieved, number of suitable oocytes retrieved, fertilization rate and rate of top quality embryos) and clinical outcomes (miscarriage rate and live birth rate).

Results
630 women were randomized 2-12 weeks prior to initiate the IVF cycle to receive either a single dose of 600,000 IU of vitamin D3 (n=308) or placebo (n=322). One hundred thirteen (37%) and 130 (40%) women achieved a clinical pregnancy in the treatment and placebo groups, respectively (p=0.37). The risk ratio (RR) of clinical pregnancy in women receiving vitamin D3 was 0.91 (95% confidence interval-CI: 0.75 – 1.11). Compared to placebo, vitamin D3 supplementation did not significantly improve the secondary outcomes. Exploratory subgroup analyses for BMI, age, indication to IVF, ovarian reserve, interval between drug administration and initiation of the cycle and basal levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D failed to highlight any clinical situation that could benefit from the supplementation.

Conclusions: In normal weight women with preserved ovarian reserve and low vitamin D levels undergoing IVF cycles, a single oral dose of 600,000 IU of vitamin D3 does not improve the chances of clinical pregnancy. Although the findings do not support the use of vitamin D3 supplementation to ameliorate IVF success, further studies are required to rule out milder but potentially still interesting benefits as well as exploring the effectiveness of alternative modalities of supplementation.

Clinical trial of 50,000 IU vitamin D weekly to improve IVF success - Phase 4 trial announced July 2017

Vitamin D Supplementation in Vitamin Deficient Women Undergoing IVF Cycles: Does it Affect the Fertility Outcome?
Unfortunately trial is only giving vitamin D to the women, and for only 2 months
They will be measuring results over the next 12 months
Doubt that this clinical trial will be successful
50,000 IU bi-weekly to both man and woman during an entire year would have had far better success.

59% reduction in sperm count around the world in just 40 years - Mercola Aug 2017. May 2022

Skyrocketing Male Infertility May Threaten Mankind’s Survival - Mercola

• "According to the largest meta-analysis of its kind, sperm counts around the world declined by more than 50 percent, to 47 million sperm per mL, between 1973 and 2013, and continue to dwindle"
• "The most significant declines were found in samples from men in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where many had sperm concentrations below 40 million/mL — a level at which a man will have trouble fertilizing an egg"
  Vitamin D was barely mentioned
  • Full study is on Vitamin D Life Global sperm count dropped by 59 percent in 40 years – meta-analysis Aug 2017
•  Mercola Update May 2022
• ‘Countdown to zero’: Endocrine disruptors and worldwide sperm counts MDEdge Aug 2021]
  • "At the current rate of decline, the average sperm count will be zero in 2045"
  • speculates on plastics, etc as endorine disrupters (no mention of Vitamin D crashing)
    • 4 Reasons why Vitamin D levels are crashing

Eating more fish (probably Omega-3 and Vitamin D) resulted in a 16% increase in babies - May 2018

Survey of 501 couples, New York Times
Reportingo n study in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-00385

• "By 12 months, 92 percent of couples who ate fish twice a week or more were pregnant, compared with 79 percent among those who ate less."

Men Are Freaking Out About Their Sperm NYT July 2018

• includes highlights of 185 studies Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis 2017
  52.4% between 1973 and 2011, https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmx022 avaiable at DeepDyve
  The word Vitamin does not occur once in the New York Times article nor the study

Vitamin D: Study Finds Impaired Fertility - May 2016

[http://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/pregnancy/58076|URl]
RCT of Vitamin D and Fertility - daily for a year - to 16 weeks after birth
This data disagrees with a majority of studies on this page

Statistical certainty of the percentages was not given in the abstract

• "Complications during labor, including preeclampsia and postpartum bleeding, were significantly more frequent in the placebo group compared with the combined treatment groups (52% versus 23%, P=0.005)."
• "The study found no difference in other complications including pre-term birth, miscarriage, gestational diabetes, and infections"
• No comment on any differences in Still Births, Death during first year, etc.
• Wonder if mothers getting lots of vitamin D had more alive and healthy children at the one year mark compared to placebo

Abstract

Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex? Nov 2018

The Atlantic Vitamin D is not mentioned

• "...Americans are in the midst of a sex recession"
• "...crushing economic pressures, of surging anxiety rates, of psychological frailty, of widespread antidepressant use, of streaming television, of environmental estrogens leaked by plastics, of dropping testosterone levels, of digital porn, of the vibrator’s golden age, of dating apps, of option paralysis, of helicopter parents, of careerism, of smartphones, of the news cycle, of information overload generally, of sleep deprivation, of obesity. Name a modern blight, and someone, somewhere, is ready to blame it for messing with the modern libido?

The Disappearing Y Chromosome Atlantic Mag Dec 2019

It’s surprisingly common for men to start losing entire chromosomes from blood cells as they age

• "Now a new study—the largest yet of this phenomenon—estimates that 20 percent of 205,011 men in a large genetic database called the UK Biobank have lost Y chromosomes from some detectable proportion of their blood. By age 70, 43.6 percent of men had the same issue."1

No mention of Vitamin D

5X longer to induce pregnancy if male is >45

The male biological clock – How to tell the time MDEdge Oct 2021

Vitamin D in human reproduction: some answers and many more questions - Jan 2021

 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

Less fertile mice if low Vitamin D (fully-activated Vitamin D) - Feb 2021

• 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D deficiency accelerates male reproductive senescence in aging mice
  • doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.00531.2020, free abstract, study is behind $25 paywall

Email from a woman who read this page, tested and then took vitamin D - Dec 15. 2022

Hello
I want to thank you for providing the information on your website. I was able to give birth to a healthy baby after 4 miscarriages.
I read many of the articles and saw the testimony a man had wrote about his wife having a baby. I had been tested for many things but my vitamin D level wasn't checked.
I ordered a test on my own and I was at a 13. I got it up to a 94 and was pregnant the next month. Taking high dose vitamin D is the only change I made and I hope I can share this knowledge with others struggling with fertility problems.
Candice