Analysis of Vitamin D and VDR Expression in Women with Advanced Endometriosis: A Case–Control Study in Thailand

Vitet Layanun, Woraluk Somboonporn, Pinya Aupongkaroon, Pilaiwan Kleebkaow, Nipon Chaisuriya, Naree Pluthikarmpae
Biomedicines · 2025 · vol. 13(7) , pp. 1605 · doi:10.3390/biomedicines13071605 · PMID:40722678 · W4411786010
article OA: gold CC0
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study found no significant association between vitamin D levels, VDR expression, and endometriosis severity in Thai women, despite higher VDR expression in endometriotic epithelial cells versus stromal cells.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D has anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties that may influence the pathophysiology of endometriosis. This study investigated the association between vitamin D levels and endometriosis, and vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression in endometriotic tissue. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 36 patients with endometriosis and 72 healthy control women, matched for age and BMI. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured and categorized into four statuses (normal, insufficiency, deficiency, and severe deficiency). Endometriotic tissue samples were examined for VDR expression using immunohistochemistry and qualitatively quantified using histo-scores (H-scores). Endometriosis severity was assessed using the revised criteria of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (rASRM). Results: No statistically significant difference in vitamin D levels between the groups (20.45 vs. 21.10 ng/dL, p = 0.190) was observed, even after adjusting for residence, body sunscreen use, pregnancy, and contraceptive use. VDR expression exhibited significantly higher H-scores in endometriotic epithelial cells than in stromal cells (209.51 vs. 73.32; p < 0.001). Additionally, the VDR H-score in both cell compartments showed no significant difference according to vitamin D status. No statistically significant association was found between vitamin D levels, VDR expression, or disease severity. The odds of severe endometriosis were 2.17 (95% CI: 0.14–33.80) for vitamin D insufficiency and 4.33 (95% CI: 0.24–115.67) for deficiency compared with normal vitamin D. Conclusions: There was no statistically significant association between vitamin D levels and endometriosis and VDR.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Outcome instruments

VAS-pain rASRM

Condition tags

endometriosis

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (48)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-04T01:30:01.192114+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
pmc
last seen: 2026-05-13T20:22:03.195721+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:31:15.822300+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK