A recent study has explored the association between vitamin D levels and vasomotor symptoms in a group of postmenopausal women.

A group of 1,407 women were randomly selected from 26,104 potentially eligible women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative Calcium and Vitamin D trial of postmenopausal women aged 51 to 80 years. Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] were measured at the baseline visit.

After exclusions for missing data, 530 women (mean [SD] age, 66.2 [6.8] years) were eligible for analysis. The researchers observed borderline significant associations between 25(OH)D levels and the total number of menopausal symptoms; however, the effect was clinically insignificant and disappeared with correction for multiple testing. No associations between 25(OH)D levels and composite measures of sleep disturbance, emotional well-being, or energy/fatigue were observed.

The authors thus concluded that there was no evidence for a clinically important association between serum 25(OH)D levels and menopause-related symptoms in postmenopausal women.  They noted, however, that because about 75% of the participants were more than 10 years from menopause, women included in this study may not be representative of the younger population of women who experience symptoms during the transition through menopause.

Ruta Nonacs, MD PhD

LeBlanc ES, Desai M, Perrin N, et al.  Vitamin D levels and menopause-related symptoms.  Menopause. 2014; 21(11):1197-203.

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