Women’s and men’s intake of omega-3 fatty acids and their food sources and assisted reproductive technology outcomes

Salas‐Huetos, Albert; Arvizu, Mariel; Mínguez-Alarcón, Lidia; Mitsunami, Makiko; Ribas-Maynou, Jordi; Yeste, Marc; Ford, Jennifer B.; Souter, Irene; Chavarro, Jorge E.

doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2022.03.053

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…A consequence of this operational decision is that the distribution of specific foods (eTable 9 in Supplement 1) and nutrients (eTable 10 in Supplement 1) that may exert causal effects on a specific health outcome will differ across patterns. In this case, differences in intake between extreme quartiles of adherence for foods and nutrients previously related to infertility treatment outcomes, such as fish, whole grains, omega-3 fatty acids, and folic acid, were more pronounced for the AHA dietary pattern than for any other diet pattern examined (eTables 9 and 10 in Supplement 1). Of note, while the AHA dietary pattern exhibited significant differences in intake for these 4 dietary factors, the contrasts between extreme quartiles of adherence to AHA for these 4 factors were smaller than those previously associated with better infertility treatment outcomes .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Women’s Adherence to Healthy Dietary Patterns and Outcomes of Infertility Treatment

Salas-Huetos,

Mitsunami,

Wang

et al. 2023

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceIncreasing evidence suggests that specific foods and nutrients may improve infertility treatment outcomes in women. However, less is known about the role of dietary patterns.ObjectiveTo investigate whether women’s adherence to a priori–defined dietary patterns promoted for the prevention of chronic conditions is associated with outcomes of infertility treatment.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis prospective cohort study was conducted at a fertility center at an academic medical center in Boston, Massachusetts. Women undergoing infertility treatment cycles, including intrauterine insemination cycles and in vitro fertilization with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection were included. Data were collected from January 2007 to October 2019, and data were analyzed from February to December 2022.ExposuresWomen’s pretreatment diet was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire from which 8 a priori–defined scores were calculated (higher score indicates greater adherence): (1) Trichopoulou Mediterranean diet, (2) alternate Mediterranean diet, (3) Panagiotakos Mediterranean diet, (4) Healthy Eating Index, (5) Alternate Healthy Eating Index, (6) American Heart Association (AHA) index, (7) Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension index, and (8) plant-based diet.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe adjusted probability of clinically relevant outcomes (live birth as a primary outcome and clinical pregnancy and pregnancy loss as secondary outcomes) was evaluated across quartiles of adherence to each dietary pattern using multivariable generalized linear mixed models to account for repeated cycles.ResultsThis analysis included 612 women with a median (IQR) age of 35.0 (32.0-38.0) years. There was no association between women’s adherence to the 8 a priori dietary patterns and probability of clinical pregnancy or live birth following in vitro fertilization or intrauterine insemination. However, an inverse association was found between adherence to AHA dietary pattern and risks of total and clinical pregnancy loss. Among women who became pregnant during the course of infertility treatment, the adjusted probabilities of pregnancy loss in the lowest and highest quartile of the AHA dietary pattern were 0.41 (95% CI, 0.33-0.50) and 0.28 (95% CI, 0.21–0.36), respectively (P for trend = .02). The corresponding adjusted probabilities of clinical pregnancy loss were 0.30 (95% CI, 0.22-0.39) and 0.15 (95% CI, 0.10-0.23) (P for trend = .007). A similar pattern was observed for all other dietary patterns, with the exception of the plant-based diet pattern.Conclusions and RelevanceFindings of this cohort study suggest that preconception adherence to the AHA diet may be associated with a lower likelihood of pregnancy loss during the course of infertility treatment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Women’s Adherence to Healthy Dietary Patterns and Outcomes of Infertility Treatment

Salas-Huetos,

Mitsunami,

Wang

et al. 2023

JAMA Netw Open

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“…The included studies comprised one RCT ( Yamamoto et al , 2017 ) and 36 observational studies; 14 prospective ( Chavarro et al , 2008 ; Vujkovic et al , 2009 ; Braga et al , 2012 ; Twigt et al , 2012 ; Afeiche et al , 2014a ; Afeiche et al , 2014b ; Minguez-Alarcon et al , 2015 ; Xia et al , 2015 , 2016 ; Oostingh et al , 2017 ; Gaskins et al , 2018 ; Hatch et al , 2018 ; Salas-Huetos et al , 2022a ; Salas-Huetos et al , 2022b ), 16 cross-sectional ( Attaman et al , 2012 ; Karayiannis et al , 2017 ; Danielewicz et al , 2018 ; Efrat et al , 2018 ; Jurewicz et al , 2018 ; Danielewicz et al , 2019 ; Ricci et al , 2019 , 2020 ; Shirani et al , 2020 ; Mitsunami et al , 2021a ; Mitsunami et al , 2021b ; Abdollahi et al , 2022 ; Leilami et al , 2022 ; Nouri et al , 2022a ; Nouri et al , 2022b ; Geller et al , 2023 ), and six case–control ( Mendiola et al , 2009 , 2010 ; Eslamian et al , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 ; Haeri et al , 2021 ) studies. Study characteristics are outlined in Supplementary Table S2 , with a summary of results (stratified by food groups/patterns) provided in Supplementary Table S3 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seven studies assessed the influence of total fat and fatty acid intake on male fertility outcomes ( Mendiola et al , 2010 ; Attaman et al , 2012 ; Eslamian et al , 2015 ; Ricci et al , 2020 ; Nouri et al , 2022b ; Salas-Huetos et al , 2022a ; Geller et al , 2023 ). Two prospective US studies examined fatty acid intake and fecundability ( Salas-Huetos et al , 2022a ; Geller et al , 2023 ). In the first study among 697 couples trying to conceive without the use of fertility treatment, intake of total fat among male participants was weakly positively associated with fecundability, defined as the per-cycle probability of conception ( Geller et al , 2023 ) ( Table 1 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the influence of preconception diet on male fertility: a systematic scoping review

Tully,

Alesi,

McPherson

et al. 2024

Human Reproduction Update

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BACKGROUND The last decade has seen increased research on the relationship between diet and male fertility, but there are no clearly defined nutritional recommendations for men in the preconception period to support clinical fertility outcomes. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE The purpose of this scoping review is to examine the extent and range of research undertaken to evaluate the effect(s) of diet in the preconception period on male clinical fertility and reproductive outcomes. SEARCH METHODS Four electronic databases (MEDLINE and EMBASE via Ovid, CAB Direct, and CINAHL via EBSCO) were searched from inception to July 2023 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies (prospective/retrospective, case–control, and cross-sectional). Intervention studies in male participants or couples aiming to achieve dietary or nutritional change, or non-intervention studies examining dietary or nutritional components (whole diets, dietary patterns, food groups or individual foods) in the preconception period were included. Controls were defined as any comparison group for RCTs, and any/no comparison for observational studies. Primary outcomes of interest included the effect(s) of male preconception diet on clinical outcomes such as conception (natural or via ART), pregnancy rates and live birth rates. Secondary outcomes included time to conception and sperm parameters. OUTCOMES A total of 37 studies were eligible, including one RCT and 36 observational studies (prospective, cross-sectional, and case–control studies; four studies in non-ART populations) published between 2008 and 2023. Eight reported clinical outcomes, 26 reported on secondary outcomes, and three reported on both. The RCT did not assess clinical outcomes but found that tomato juice may benefit sperm motility. In observational studies, some evidence suggested that increasing fish or reducing sugar-sweetened beverages, processed meat or total fat may improve fecundability. Evidence for other clinical outcomes, such as pregnancy rates or live birth rates, showed no relationship with cereals, soy and dairy, and inconsistent relationships with consuming red meat or a ‘healthy diet’ pattern. For improved sperm parameters, limited evidence supported increasing fish, fats/fatty acids, carbohydrates and dairy, and reducing processed meat, while the evidence for fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes, eggs, red meat and protein was inconsistent. Healthy diet patterns in general were shown to improve sperm health. WIDER IMPLICATIONS Specific dietary recommendations for improving male fertility are precluded by the lack of reporting on clinical pregnancy outcomes, heterogeneity of the available literature and the paucity of RCTs to determine causation or to rule out reverse causation. There may be some benefit from increasing fish, adopting a healthy dietary pattern, and reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meat, but it is unclear whether these benefits extend beyond sperm parameters to improve clinical fertility. More studies exploring whole diets rather than singular foods or nutritional components in the context of male fertility are encouraged, particularly by means of RCTs where feasible. Further assessment of core fertility outcomes is warranted and requires careful planning in high-quality prospective studies and RCTs. These studies can lay the groundwork for targeted dietary guidelines and enhance the prospects of successful fertility outcomes for men in the preconception period. Systematic search of preconception diet suggests that increasing fish and reducing sugary drinks, processed meats and total fat may improve male fertility, while consuming healthy diets, fish, fats/fatty acids, carbohydrates and dairy and reducing processed meat can improve sperm health.

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“…In particular, the Mediterranean diet (wherein the balance of intake comprises fruit and vegetables, fish, and nuts, with a small amount of white meat and dairy, and minimal red meat) has been shown to have significant positive effects on sperm quality, including motility. 39 Food-based interventions using omega-3 40 supplementation has been shown to improve sperm count and concentration, while a short-term intervention with nuts 41 reduced sperm DNA methylation. It is important to note, however, that not all perceived "positive" lifestyle interventions are good for male fecundity.…”

Section: Before Treatment-optimize the Manmentioning

confidence: 99%

Only the Best of the Bunch—Sperm Preparation Is Not Just about Numbers

Gallagher,

Krasauskaite,

Kirkman-Brown

2023

Semin Reprod Med

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In this Seminar, we present an overview of the current and emerging methods and technologies for optimizing the man and the sperm sample for fertility treatment. We argue that sperms are the secret to success, and that there are many avenues for improving both treatment and basic understanding of their role in outcomes. These outcomes encompass not just whether treatment is successful or not, but the wider intergenerational health of the offspring. We discuss outstanding challenges and opportunities of new technologies such as microfluidics and artificial intelligence, including potential pitfalls and advantages. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the importance of sperm in fertility treatment and suggests future directions for research and innovation.

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Women’s and men’s intake of omega-3 fatty acids and their food sources and assisted reproductive technology outcomes

Cited by 19 publications

References 36 publications

Women’s Adherence to Healthy Dietary Patterns and Outcomes of Infertility Treatment

Women’s Adherence to Healthy Dietary Patterns and Outcomes of Infertility Treatment

Assessing the influence of preconception diet on male fertility: a systematic scoping review

Only the Best of the Bunch—Sperm Preparation Is Not Just about Numbers

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