Alcohol Intake Tied to Fertility Treatment Outcomes

TUESDAY, Oct. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Higher alcohol intake is associated with reduced odds of pregnancy or live birth after in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published online Oct. 20 in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

Wentao Rao, from Tongji Medical College in Wuhan, China, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to examine the association between caffeine and alcohol consumption and IVF/ICSI outcomes. The review included 12 studies on caffeine consumption and 14 on alcohol consumption; seven and nine were eligible for the meta-analysis, respectively. The studies included 26,922 women and/or their spouses.

The researchers observed no significant association for women's and men's caffeine consumption with the pregnancy rate or the live birth rate of IVF/ICSI. There was a negative association for maternal alcohol consumption with pregnancy after IVF/ICSI treatment (odds ratio, 0.83; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.69 to 1.01). A negative association was seen for paternal alcohol consumption with a partner's live birth after IVF/ICSI treatment (odds ratio, 0.88; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.79 to 0.99). Compared with abstainers, women and men who consumed greater than 84 g alcohol per week had a reduced chance of achieving a pregnancy and live birth with partner, respectively, after IVF/ICSI treatment (odds ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.93 [0.90 to 0.98] and 0.91 [0.88 to 0.94], respectively).

"Couples should be aware that some modifiable lifestyle factors such as drinking habits may affect their fertility treatment outcomes," a coauthor said in a statement. "But how these factors impact the reproductive system still needs more research to elucidate."

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