A study reported on January 11, 2017 in The Aging Male found improvements in testosterone levels, erectile function and indicators of metabolic syndrome among men who received vitamin D over a one year period. “Given that patients with low total testosterone often have low vitamin D levels, collectively, research suggests a relationship between low vitamin D and low total testosterone, and increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus,” note Ondor Canguven of Hamad General Hospital in Doha, Qatar and colleagues.
The study included 102 men between the ages of 35 to 65 with vitamin D levels of less than 30 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). Upon enrollment and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, blood samples were analyzed for serum total testosterone, estradiol, hemoglobin A1c, lipids, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and other factors, and questionnaires were administered to assess erectile function. Participants received 600,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D in an orally administered solution at the beginning of the study and monthly thereafter until a serum level of 30 ng/mL was attained, after which the dose was given every other month.
Serum vitamin D and total testosterone significantly increased with each measurement over the course of the study. This was accompanied by an improvement in erectile function scores and decreases in estradiol, parathyroid hormone, hemoglobin A1c, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and body mass index.
As potential mechanisms for vitamin D in erectile function, Dr Canguven and associates suggest improved endothelial integrity, increased nitric oxide mediated vascular dilation, and more.
“This study demonstrated that, in middle-aged vitamin D-deficient men, vitamin D treatment improves sexual hormones, metabolic syndrome and erectile dysfunction,” the authors conclude.