High alcohol consumption increases the risk of infertility

High alcohol consumption is associated with an increase in the frequency of visits to a fertility problem, suggests published in the journal "Fertility and Sterility" Swedish study.

Preserve fertility

Tests have been conducted on the link between alcohol consumption and fertility, but only in the short term, specify January Eggert and his colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

To study this problem in the long term, the authors included 7393 women aged 18-28 years in 1969 and then analyzed their responses to a questionnaire with two questions on alcohol consumption and followed these patients for ten- eight years.

Just over 7% of women reported high alcohol consumption (more than 140 g per week) and 22.7% low power consumption (less than 50 g per week).

Over the study period, 252 women had consulted a doctor for a fertility problem.

The authors calculated that, compared to women with moderate consumption, the risk of consultation was increased by 58% among those admitting a high consumption of alcohol when he was reduced to 36% of those reporting a low power consumption.

Moreover, the probability of having a child was reduced by 22% in women with a high which may be linked to an increased risk of abortion and divorce rates, the authors point out drinking.

The likelihood of having a child was also reduced by 13% among women with low levels of alcohol consumption, the authors were unable to explain.

Finally, no difference between the groups was found regarding the rate of miscarriage and the risk of ectopic pregnancy.

"Apparently, it should be recommended to women of infertile couples to limit their alcohol consumption or completely stop drinking," the authors conclude.

Tobacco, coffee, tea and overweight also guilty

A British study published in the same issue of "Fertility and Sterility" is interested in the impact of several factors on the fertility of couples.

Mohamed Hassan and his colleagues at the University of Hull (UK) sent a questionnaire to 2,112 pregnant women.

Analysis of the responses shows that the risk of getting pregnant more than twelve months after stopping contraception was multiplied by 3.6 when the woman smoked more than 15 cigarettes per day, 2.2 when the partner consumed more 20 units of alcohol per week, by 2.2 when the body mass index (weight ratio of the square of the height) of the woman showed greater than 25 kg/m2 and 1.7 when consumption tea or coffee exceeded 6 cups a day.

In addition, the time between stopping contraception and early pregnancy was multiplied by seven for couples with accumulated more than 4 of these "negative factors."

"The lifestyle has a significant and cumulative impact on fertility," the authors conclude by stating that appropriate counseling may reduce the proliferation of balance and fertility treatments