DOI: 10.1111/jog.70393 ISSN: 1341-8076
Association Between Serum Vitamin D Levels and Insulin Resistance in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Qingmin Guo, Ruiting Du, Chunming Guo, Shujuan Ma ABSTRACT
Background
Vitamin D deficiency has been proposed as a potential contributor to insulin resistance (
IR
) in polycystic ovary syndrome (
PCOS
); however, the evidence remains inconclusive. This meta‐analysis evaluated the association between serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(
OH
)D] and
IR
in
PCOS
.
Methods
We systematically searched
PubMed
, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to December 2025 for observational studies reporting correlations of 25(
OH
)D with
IR
indices (
HOMA
‐
IR
/fasting insulin) in women with
PCOS
. Pooled correlation coefficients (
r
) with 95% confidence intervals (
CI
) were calculated using random‐effects models.
Results
Fourteen studies involving 1856 women with
PCOS
were included. A significant inverse correlation was found between serum 25(
OH
)D and
IR
(pooled
r
= −0.32, 95%
CI
: −0.40 to −0.23;
p
< 0.001;
I
2
= 58%). Subgroup analyses revealed stronger associations in overweight/obese women (
r
= −0.35) and in Asian populations (
r
= −0.36). Women with vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/
mL
) showed a stronger correlation (
r
= −0.38). Sensitivity analysis confirmed robustness, and no significant publication bias was detected.
Conclusion
Lower serum vitamin D is significantly associated with greater insulin resistance in
PCOS
, especially in overweight/obese and Asian subgroups. These findings highlight the potential value of assessing vitamin D status in the metabolic evaluation of
PCOS
.