Alcohol and Difficulty Conceiving in the SUN Cohort: A Nested Case-Control Study

Nutrients

Cristina Lopez-del Burgo²  Alfredo Gea²  Jokin de Irala²  Miguel A. Martínez-González²  JorgeE. Chavarro¹ 

[1] Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 02115 Boston, MA, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain; E-Mails:

关键词: fertility;    nested case-control study;    diet;    alcohol;    wine;    beer;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nu7085278

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The role of alcohol on fertility remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages consumption and the risk of difficulty getting pregnant. We used a case-control study nested within the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort, a prospective, dynamic and multipurpose cohort of 21,705 Spanish university graduates, followed biennially with mailed questionnaires. We identified 686 case-control pairs, matched for age and time in the cohort. Cases were women reporting difficulty getting pregnant. Controls did not consult due to difficulty conceiving and had at least one child during follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounders, we found no association between self-reported difficulty getting pregnant and the number of alcoholic beverages consumed per week, (Odds Ratio [OR] > 5 drinks/week vs. none = 1.04, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.72–1.51). No association between types of alcoholic beverage and difficulty conceiving (OR > 5 drinks of wine/week vs. none = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.72–1.88; OR > 5 drinks of beer/week vs. none = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.82–1.37; OR > 5 drinks of spirits/week vs. none = 1.24, 95% CI = 0.84–1.64) was observed. In conclusion, we found no association between alcohol intake and risk of consulting a physician due to difficulty conceiving. More studies are needed to clearly elucidate the effects of alcohol intake on women’s fertility. In the meantime, recommendations about alcohol intake to couples trying to conceive have to be given cautiously.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.