Vitamin D may not prevent return of vaginosis after all

(HealthDay)—A new study suggests that high doses of vitamin D may not help prevent the return of bacterial vaginosis (BV). The research was published in the November issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The findings counter other research that suggests higher vitamin D levels could boost the immune system as it tries to fight off the infection, according to background information in the study.

"Earlier studies observed that women with low vitamin D levels were more likely to have bacterial vaginosis, and we hypothesized that vitamin D supplementation might reduce BV," study author Abigail Norris Turner, Ph.D., an infectious disease expert at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said in a university news release. "However, our study found that high-dose vitamin D supplementation wasn't helpful in preventing recurrence of BV," she said.

An estimated 21 million women, more blacks than whites, are diagnosed with BV in the United States each year, according to the researchers. In the study, they randomly assigned 118 women with BV to get nine large doses of a vitamin D supplement or a placebo. Vitamin D levels rose in the women who received the supplement, but they weren't less likely to develop BV again over 24 weeks.