Researchers asked women about
their diet before they underwent in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment and
found that those who ate more fresh vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes,
fish and olive oil, and less red meat, had a 65-68% greater likelihood of
achieving a successful pregnancy and birth compared to women with the lowest
adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet.
The study, which is published in Human Reproduction, one of the
world's leading reproductive medicine journals, focused on dietary patterns
rather than individual nutrients, foods or food groups. It assessed the diet of
244 women via a food frequency questionnaire when they enrolled at an Assisted
Conception Unity in Athens, Greece, for their first IVF treatment. The
questionnaire asked them about how often they ate certain groups of food in the
preceding six months; the results gave the women a MedDiet Score, which ranged
from 0-55 with higher scores indicating greater adherence to the Mediterranean
diet. The women were aged between 22 and 41 and were non-obese (body mass index
of less than 30 kg/m2).
Researchers, led by Associate Professor Nikos Yiannakouris
at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Harokopio University of Athens,
divided the women into three groups depending on their MedDiet Score: the first
group had scores between 18 to 30, the second scored between 31and 35 and the third
group scored between 36 to 47.
They found that compared to the
86 women in the highest scoring group, the 79 women in the lowest scoring group
had significantly lower rates of pregnancies (29% versus 50%) and live births
(26.6% versus 48.8%). When the researchers looked at women younger than 35
years old, they found that every five-point improvement in the MedDiet Score
was linked with an approximately 2.7 times higher likelihood of achieving a
successful pregnancy and live birth.
Overall, 229 women (93.9%) had
at least one embryo transferred to their wombs; 138 (56%) had a successful
implantation; 104 (42.6%) achieved a clinical pregnancy (one that can be
confirmed by ultrasound); and 99 (40.5%) gave birth to a live baby.
"The important message from our
study is that women attempting fertility should be encouraged to eat a healthy
diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, because greater adherence to this healthy
dietary pattern may help increase the chances of successful pregnancy and
delivering a live baby," said
Prof Yiannakouris. "It
should be noted that when it comes to conceiving a baby, diet and lifestyle are
just as important for men as for women. Previous work from our research group
among the male partners of our study has suggested that adherence to the
Mediterranean diet may also help improve semen quality. Taken together, these
findings highlight the importance of dietary influences and diet quality on
fertility, and support a favourable role for the Mediterranean diet on assisted
reproduction performance."
The researchers did not find
any association between diet and the chances of successful pregnancies and live
births among women aged 35 and older. However, they believe this is because
hormonal changes, fewer available eggs and other changes that women experience
as they get older could mask the influences of environmental factors such as
diet.
Prof Yiannakouris said: "The fact that in our study a
favourable effect of the Mediterranean diet was evident only among women
younger than 35 years doesn't mean that eating a healthy diet is not as
important for older women. Our results suggest the need for additional research
not only among older women, but also among women with obesity problems and in
women conceiving naturally."
The researchers say that their
findings cannot be generalised to all women trying to become pregnant, or to
obese women or women attending other infertility clinics around the world. They
point out that their findings show that a Mediterranean diet is only linked to
improved IVF outcomes and they cannot show that it causes the improved chances
of pregnancy and birth.
“Our findings provide support that
couples undergoing infertility treatment may benefit by adhering to the
Mediterranean diet (a diet widely accepted for its positive effects on human
health). However, whether or not advice to adhere more closely to this
traditional diet would improve assisted reproduction performance needs to be
addressed in future intervention studies. Moreover, our results should be
explored and confirmed in other populations within and beyond the Mediterranean
region.
“Clearly more research and
intervention studies are needed to elucidate the role of diet quality in
assisted reproductive performance, to reveal underlying mechanisms, and for developing
nutritional guidelines for women to further improve fertility treatment and
success rates. As more couples worldwide face infertility problems and seek
access to assisted reproduction technologies to conceive, it is essential for
them to receive counseling on the importance of dietary influences and of
adopting a healthy lifestyle," concluded
Prof Yiannakouris.
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