Vitamin D deficiency and low ionized calcium are linked with semen quality and sex steroid levels in infertile men.

Study Question: Are low vitamin D levels linked with semen quality and sex steroids in infertile men?

Summary Answer: Infertile men with vitamin D deficiency had lower sperm motility, total numbers of motile sperm, Inhibin B, sex-hormone-binding-globulin (SHBG) and testosterone/estradiol ratio, but higher levels of free sex steroids, than infertile men with normal vitamin D levels.

What Is Known Already: Low vitamin D levels have been associated with decreased sperm motility in healthy men, but a relationship between vitamin D and calcium with semen quality and especially sex steroids has not been sufficiently described in infertile men.

Study Design, Size, Duration: This study comprises baseline characteristics of 1427 infertile men screened from 2011 to 2014 for inclusion in a randomized clinical trial, the Copenhagen-Bone-Gonadal Study.

Elevated third-trimester haemoglobin A 1c predicts preterm delivery in type 1 diabetes.

The prevalence of preterm delivery is considerably elevated in women with type 1 diabetes. The aim of the study was to evaluate haemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) as a predictor of preterm delivery. Two hundred thirteen consecutive pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and normal urinary albumin excretion were included prospectively.

Signs of maternal vascular dysfunction precede preeclampsia in women with type 1 diabetes.

Aim: This study aims to test the hypothesis that vascular dysfunction is present early in pregnancy in women with type 1 diabetes who subsequently develop preeclampsia.

Methods: Eighty-three women with type 1 diabetes of more than 10 years duration were followed up prospectively during pregnancy. External ultrasound was used to measure the dilatory response of the brachial artery to postischemic increased blood flow (endothelium-dependent, flow-associated dilatation) and to nitroglycerin (NTG) [endothelium-independent, NTG-induced dilatation (NID)] at Gestational Weeks 11 and 29.

Serum levels of activin A and inhibin A are not related to the increased susceptibility to pre-eclampsia in type I diabetic pregnancies.

Background: Activin A and inhibin A have been found to be elevated in women without diabetes subsequently developing pre-eclampsia. The aim was to investigate whether activin A and inhibin A in serum were elevated in type I diabetic women after developing pre-eclampsia and, if so, were they clinically useful as predictors of pre-eclampsia.

Methods: In a prospective study, maternal serum was analyzed for activin A and inhibin A in 115 women with type 1 diabetes at 10, 14, 22, 28, and 33 weeks of gestation.

Poor pregnancy outcome in women with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: To evaluate the perinatal outcome and the frequency of maternal complications in pregnancies of women with type 2 diabetes during 1996-2001.

Research Design And Methods: Medical records of 61 consecutive singleton pregnancies in women with type 2 diabetes from 1996 to 2001 were studied. Pregnancy outcome was compared with that of pregnant women with type 1 diabetes during 1996-2000, the background population, and pregnant women with type 2 diabetes during 1980-1992 from the same department.

Audit on stillbirths in women with pregestational type 1 diabetes.

Objective: To audit stillbirth cases in women with type 1 diabetes to search for specific characteristics in order to improve antenatal care and treatment.

Research Design And Methods: Retrospectively identified cases of stillbirths in women with type 1 diabetes during 1990-2000 were analyzed regarding characteristics of the mother, the pregnancy, glycemic control, and the stillborn. The cause of stillbirth was categorized as explainable, likely, or without obvious cause.