The effect of vitamin D supplementation on the androgenic profile in men: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

Abstract

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on total testosterone (TT) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in men. We searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science for randomized, controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation in men ≥18years old up to September 2018, without language restrictions. Meta-analysis was based on a random effects model. The systematic review was registered as CRD42018094498. We identified 3,402 articles, of which eight studies with 10 effect sizes met the inclusion criteria. Vitamin D daily dose equivalents ranged from 600 to 4,000 per day to 60,000IU per week; duration was 6weeks to 36months. In general, vitamin D supplementation had no significant effect on TT (MD=0.20, 95% CI: -0.20, 0.60, p=0.336) and SHBG (MD=1.56, 95% CI: -0.85, 3.97, p=0.204). Subgroup analysis conducted with duration of prescription, type (daily or weekly), dosing frequency and baseline vitamin D and TT concentration showed that vitamin D did not significantly affect TT. The present study did not find any evidence to support beneficial effect of vitamin D supplementation on TT and SHBG in men. Thus, further large-scale randomised controlled trials are required to evaluate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on androgen in men.