Vienna, Feb 3: Austrian scientists have found vitamin D's deficiency, long held as a risk factor for diseases like diabetes, may cause infertility among men and women.

This deficiency has also been a risk factor for diseases like osteoporosis, or the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time.

After analysing numerous studies, the Austrian physicians Barbara Obermayer-Pietsch and Elisabeth Lerchbaum found that vitamin D level was associated with the production of male hormones. More specifically, there was a link between vitamin D and the increase in testosterone levels, subsequently the semen quality, Xinhua reported.

The finding has been published in the European Journal of Endocrinology's latest issue.

According to Obermayer-Pietsch, as vitamin D plays an important role in hormone production also in women, low levels of vitamin D often lead to too much testosterone, which therefore could increase the risk of infertility among women. 

The scientists will continue to conduct further scientific studies to find out new therapeutic approaches, including the reproduction of vitamin D.