A prospective study of dairy foods intake and anovulatory infertility

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dairy foods and lactose may impair fertility by affecting ovulatory function. Yet, few studies have been conducted in humans and their results are inconsistent. We evaluated whether intake of dairy foods was associated with anovulatory infertility and whether this association differed according to fat content. METHODS: We prospectively followed 18 555 married, premenopausal women without a history of infertility who attempted a pregnancy or became pregnant during an 8-year period. Diet was assessed twice during the study using food-frequency questionnaires RESULTS: During follow-up, 438 women reported infertility due to an ovulatory disorder. The multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RR) [95% confidence interval (CI); P, trend] of anovulatory infertility comparing women consuming 2 servings per day to women consuming 1 serving per week was 1.85 (1.24-2.77; 0.002) for low-fat dairy foods. The RR (95% CI; P, trend) comparing women consuming 1 serving per day of high-fat dairy foods to those consuming 1 serving per week was 0.73 (0.52-1.01; 0.01). There was an inverse association between dairy fat intake and anovulatory infertility (P, trend 5 0.05). Intakes of lactose, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D were unrelated to anovulatory infertility. CONCLUSIONS: High intake of low-fat dairy foods may increase the risk of anovulatory infertility whereas intake of high-fat dairy foods may decrease this risk. Further, lactose (the main carbohydrate in milk and dairy products) may not affect fertility within the usual range of intake levels in humans.

Vitamin D Does not Have Any Impact on Ovarian Reserve Markers in Infertile Women

“…The women with different ovarian reserve status and corresponding AMH levels (PCOS, diminished ovarian reserve and fertile controls) had no significant difference in serum vitamin D levels (27). Furthermore, Nurses' Health Study II reported that vitamin D did not appear to have a major effect on AMH production (28), which is consistent with our observations. Certain limitations to be mentioned exist in the present study.…”

Dairy Food Intake Is Associated with Reproductive Hormones and Sporadic Anovulation among Healthy Premenopausal Women

“…In a small intervention study in which 5 women drank 500 mL milk/d for 21 d, menstruation and ovulation occurred regularly in 4 women, although anovulation was detected in 1 woman who suffered from oligomenorrhea (9). The consumption of $3 glasses of milk was protective for female fertility in a case-control study in 322 infertile women and 322 controls (10), but no association between dairy food intake and anovulatory infertility was reported in a more recent study that used the NursesÕ Health Study II data (11). However, when stratified by dairy fat, the latter study found that the consumption of >2 servings low-fat dairy food/d compared with <1 serving/wk increased the risk of anovulatory infertility (RR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.2, 2.8), whereas the intake of $1 serving high-fat dairy food/d was protective of anovulatory infertility (RR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.5, 1.0) (11).…”

“…A case-control study in women in an agricultural region found that drinking $3 glasses (1 glass = 8 ounces) of milk/d was protective for female factor infertility (10). On the other hand, a more recent study detected a positive association between low-fat dairy food intake and an increased risk of anovulatory infertility, and likewise, an inverse association between high-fat dairy food intake and anovulatory infertility (11). Another recent study in women undergoing infertility treatment reported a positive association between dairy food intake and live birth in women aged $35 y (12).…”

Dietary patterns and difficulty conceiving: a nested case–control study

“…The association between dairy products, for example, and ovulatory infertility was addressed in the Nurses' Health Study (5). In fact, Chavarro et al observed a differential effect of Fertility and Sterility 2011;96:1149-1153 Dietary patterns and difficulty conceiving low-fat and whole-fat dairy products.…”

“…With respect to diet, several studies have found associations between a high consumption of low-fat dairy food, animal proteins, trans unsaturated fats, and carbohydrates, as well as high dietary glycemic load, and ovulatory infertility (5)(6)(7)(8). All these findings suggest that insulin and glucose metabolism may affect fertility.…”