The influence of a Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism on the timing of female reproductive functions in humans

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the association between a common polymorphism of the Vitamin D receptor gene ( VDR ) and the timing of female reproductive functions in humans. Methods: One thousand fifty-eight consecutive women were included in this cross-sectional study. We analyzed the intron 8 Bsm I restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of VDR on chromosome 12q using a microarray-based system. Results: The presence of the VDR polymorphism did not influence the timing of menarche and natural menopause and was not associated with the number of spontaneous abortions, full term pregnancies (FTP) as well as the total number of pregnancies. Of note, women with at least one mutant allele of VDR were at a significantly decreased risk for experiencing surgical menopause (odds ratio [OR] 0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46–0.92, P = 0.02). Smoking and a body mass index (BMI) > 25 were associated with an earlier natural menopause and an increased risk for surgical menopause, respectively. Conclusions: While no association of a common polymorphism of VDR with the timing of menarche and menopause was ascertained, we found the presence of at least one mutant allele of VDR to be associated with a decreased risk of experiencing surgical menopause, i.e., premenopausal hysterectomy, in a large series of Caucasian women.