Revealed connection between vitamin D and contraceptive methods
Busting the Link: Estrogen-Based Birth Control Pills and Vitamin D
If you're popping estrogen-based birth control pills, there's a chance you've got more sweet vitamin D in your system. That's because researchers have found that the contraceptives could be causing a spiking in these essential nutrients.
But it's not just a holiday in the sun for vitamin D. This nutrient's primary gig is keeping calcium and phosphorous levels in check in your blood. It also acts as a superhero for your bones by helping absorb calcium, a key component in making your skeleton strong.
You can find plenty of vitamin D in food, especially in fish and eggs. But get this, around 90% of our vitamin D comes from a chemical reaction in our skin after we soak up some sun rays.
A deficiency in vitamin D can lead to some pretty nasty stuff, including rickets and soft bones (yikes!). Since vitamin D plays a significant role in creating bones, it's super important during pregnancy.
Now, enter Dr. Quaker E. Harmon, a scientist from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC. She wanted to find out if there were any connections between our favorite contraceptives and vitamin D levels.
Love and Sunshine: The Contraception Connection
Dr. Harmon and her team conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF), a project focusing on reproductive health. The study looked at almost 1,700 African-American women living in and around Detroit, MI, aged 23-34.
The ladies were questioned about their contraceptive use and any time they spent outside or vitamin D supplements they took. In the end, 1,662 women provided blood samples to assess levels of vitamin D.
Dr. Harmon found that those using contraception containing estrogen tended to have higher vitamin D levels than other women. This result remained significant even after accounting for factors like seasonal light exposure and any changes in behavior, such as increased time spent outdoors.
When it comes to vitamin D, the use of contraceptive pills, patches, or rings containing estrogen was associated with a whopping 20 percent higher levels of the nutrient. Current users had higher vitamin D levels, while past users had average levels.
A Deficit Dilemma: Vitamin D in Early Pregnancy
These findings, published recently in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, add a new layer to pregnancy planning. Because once women decide to start trying for a baby, they could run the risk of developing a vitamin D deficiency. Dr. Harmon advises, "For women planning on stopping birth control, it's worth taking steps to ensure adequate vitamin D levels during the pre-conception and pregnancy phase."
Dr. Harmon couldn't quite figure out why estrogen-based contraceptives might impact vitamin D levels. She explained, "The increase in vitamin D levels may be related to alterations in the metabolism of vitamin D." To answer more questions, Dr. Harmon is following the same group of women and working on another study to investigate how vitamin D varies across the menstrual cycle.
Her findings may hold exciting implications for pregnancy health and could urge a closer look at nutrient levels when transitioning from birth control to trying to conceive. After all, a healthy start for both mom and baby starts from the inside!
- Women using estrogen-based birth control pills might experience higher levels of vitamin D due to the spiking of these essential nutrients reported by researchers.
- Vitamin D plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of calcium and phosphorous in the blood, and aids in bone health by facilitating calcium absorption.
- Food sources rich in vitamin D include fish and eggs, but around 90% of it comes from a chemical reaction in our skin after sun exposure.
- Vitamin D deficiency can lead to serious conditions like rickets and osteomalacia, making it particularly important during pregnancy, when bones need to be strong for the developing baby.
- In a cross-sectional analysis of a study focusing on the reproductive health of African-American women, researchers found that women using estrogen-based contraceptives had significantly higher vitamin D levels.
- The study conducted by Dr. Quaker E. Harmon, a scientist from the National Institutes of Health, involved over 1,600 women and assessed their vitamin D levels based on contraceptive use, sun exposure, and vitamin D supplementation.
- The findings from this research suggest that estrogen-based contraceptives may cause a 20% increase in vitamin D levels in users. Current users had higher vitamin D levels, while past users had average levels.
- These results have implications for pregnancy planning, as women who switch from birth control to pre-conception or pregnancy stages might risk developing vitamin D deficiencies.
- To investigate the variability of vitamin D across the menstrual cycle, Dr. Harmon is following the same group of women and working on another study in the field of women's health, health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and nutrition.
