Dietary Fatty Acid Intakes and the Outcomes of Assisted Reproductive Technique in Infertile Women

Maryam   Jahangirifar; Mahboube   Taebi; Mohammad Hossein   Nasr-Esfahani; Motahar Heidari-Beni; Gholam Hossein   Asgari

doi:10.18502/jri.v22i3.6718

Maryam Jahangirifar School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Mahboube Taebi Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Mohammad Hossein Nasr-Esfahani Department of Animal Biotechnology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, Iran
Motahar Heidari-Beni Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Isfa-han University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Gholam Hossein Asgari Department of Community Nutrition, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jri.v22i3.6718

Keywords: Assisted reproductive technique, Dietary fats, In vitro fertilization, Infertility, Nutrition as-sessment.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was evaluating the relationship between fatty acid (FA) intakes and the Assisted Reproductive Technique (ART) out-comes in infertile women.

Methods: In this descriptive longitudinal study, a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to measure dietary intakes among 217 women with primary infertility seeking ART treatments at Isfahan Fertility and Infertili-ty Center, Isfahan, Iran. The average number of total and metaphase II (MII) oocytes, the fertilization rate, the ratio of good and bad quality embryo and bio-chemical and clinical pregnancy were assessed. Analyses were performed using mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test, ANOVA, ANCOVA, logistic regres-sion.

Results: A total of 140 women were finally included in the study. There was a positive relationship between the average number of total and MII oocytes and the amount of total fatty acids (TFAs), saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monoun-saturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), linoleic ac-ids, linolenic acids, and oleic acids intakes, while eicosapentaenoic acids (EPAs) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHAs) intakes had an inverse relationship. Consuming more amounts of TFAs, SFAs, PUFAs, MUFAs, linoleic acids, and oleic acids was associated with the lower fertilization rate, whereas the con-sumption of linolenic acids and EPAs increased the fertilization rate. The ratio of good quality embryo was directly affected by the amount of PUFAs intakes. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between the amount of SFAs in-takes and the number of pregnant women.

Conclusion: TFAs, SFA, PUFA, and MUFA intakes could have both beneficial and adverse impacts on ART outcomes.