Comparison of vitamin D dietary intake among four phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome and its association with serum androgenic components

The present study aimed to compare vitamin D dietary intake and its relationship with serum androgen components in four phenotypes of PCOS.
182 participants eligible for this five-group comparative study were selected by convenience sampling method. Then they were classified into five groups: A (n=41), B (n=33), C (n=40), D (n=37) and control (without PCOS) (n=31). Dietary intake assessment of vitamin D was carried out by a 168-item Food Frequency Questionnaire. Androgen components included the free androgen index (FAI), total testosterone (TT), and sex-hormone-binding-globulin (SHBG). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS22 software and Kruskal-Wallis (KW) test followed by appropriate post hoc test, Mann-Whitney U (MW), and Spearman correlation test. Significant p value was considered 0.05 for KW and Spearman tests and 0.005 for MW (based on Bonferroni correction).
Pairwise comparison of the groups revealed that dietary intakes of vitamin D were significantly lower in all phenotypes of PCOS than control group (MW; p Regarding the research results, it is suggested that modification of the nutritional status of PCOS patients and the increased consumption of vitamin D in the diet will considerably improve the situation of PCOS patients.