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Coffee Consumption Possibly Detrimental to IVF Treatment
July 09, 2008 11:17 AM
by
Anne Szustek
A study presented to the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology suggests infertility patients should cut back on caffeine intake to increase chances of conceiving.
30-Second Summary
A team of researchers led by Dr. Bea Linsten at Radboud University in the Dutch town of Nijmegen tracked the dietary habits of 9,000 women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment between 1985 and 1995 to gauge their likelihood of naturally conceiving a child.
The subjects filled out extensive questionnaires regarding their lifestyle and dietary habits to measure how various factors can affect the chances of becoming pregnant.
Around one in seven of the subject group became pregnant naturally, with some 45 percent of that group expecting within six months of their last IVF session. But among the women who drank four or more cups of coffee a day, the likelihood of becoming pregnant fell by 26 percent.
“We have to remind our patients that they may influence their chance of spontaneous pregnancy after IVF with a healthy lifestyle,” Linsten was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Consuming alcohol at least three times a week was shown to have the same effects of drinking four cups of coffee a day. Smoking and being overweight were also shown to limit an IVF patient’s chance of pregnancy.
This is the latest of studies to ponder the effects of caffeine on fertility and pregnancy.
A 2002 study conducted by a group at the University of California, San Diego suggested that daily caffeine consumption of as little as 2–50 milligrams would make IVF recipients one-third as likely to conceive than women who had an average daily caffeine intake of two milligrams or less. A cup of coffee has about 100 milligrams of caffeine.
The subjects filled out extensive questionnaires regarding their lifestyle and dietary habits to measure how various factors can affect the chances of becoming pregnant.
Around one in seven of the subject group became pregnant naturally, with some 45 percent of that group expecting within six months of their last IVF session. But among the women who drank four or more cups of coffee a day, the likelihood of becoming pregnant fell by 26 percent.
“We have to remind our patients that they may influence their chance of spontaneous pregnancy after IVF with a healthy lifestyle,” Linsten was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Consuming alcohol at least three times a week was shown to have the same effects of drinking four cups of coffee a day. Smoking and being overweight were also shown to limit an IVF patient’s chance of pregnancy.
This is the latest of studies to ponder the effects of caffeine on fertility and pregnancy.
A 2002 study conducted by a group at the University of California, San Diego suggested that daily caffeine consumption of as little as 2–50 milligrams would make IVF recipients one-third as likely to conceive than women who had an average daily caffeine intake of two milligrams or less. A cup of coffee has about 100 milligrams of caffeine.
Headline Link: ‘Coffee “worsens poor fertility”’
University of Sheffield fertility expert Prof. Bill Ledger said that heavy caffeine consumption is “only a problem if you are subfertile and you overdose. A lot of women can have 20 cups of coffee a day and get pregnant while falling off a log.”
Source: The BBC
Background: Coffee studies debate effects on women’s health
Coffee’s health benefits
A study published June 16 led by researchers from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid showed that women who consumed two to three cups of coffee a day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease than those who drank little to no coffee. Men showed a similar trend, but their decrease in risk was marginal.
Source: findingDulcinea
Scientists also recently discovered that caffeine may play a role in reducing the risk of ovarian cancer. In the March 1, 2008, issue of the journal Cancer, researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health reported that “the possibility that caffeine may reduce ovarian cancer risk, particularly for women who have not previously used exogenous hormones, is intriguing and warrants further study, including an evaluation of possible biological mechanisms.”
Source: ScienceDaily
Coffee’s health risks
A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego studied 221 couples receiving infertility treatment by in vitro fertilization and gamete intra-fallopian transfer, and published the results in 2002. Over a five-year period between 1993 and 1998, women undergoing treatment who consumed 2 to 50 milligrams of caffeine a day throughout their lives where three times less likely to have a live birth than those who consumed a daily average of two milligrams or less. A cup of coffee has about 100 milligrams of caffeine.
Source: ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Science
A study published in January showed that pregnant women who drank more than two cups of coffee per day had nearly double the risk of miscarriage than women who drank no caffeine. But the findings—the result of a two-year study—did not provide any definitive answers on how much caffeine is safe to drink during pregnancy. Previous research found moderate caffeine intake during pregnancy was perfectly safe.
Source: ABC News
Reference: Guides to coffee, caffeine and women’s fertility
FindingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Coffee covers coffee history; how to grow, roast and brew your own coffee; and where to buy coffee beans online.
Source: findingDulcinea
The Mayo Clinic provides a common-sense guide called “Caffeine: How much is too much?” that offers suggestions on when to cut caffeine use, and helpful ways to curb consumption.
Source: The Mayo Clinic
FindingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Fertility Issues shows where to go online to find explanations of infertility causes and treatments, information about related conditions and places to go for support.
Source: findingDulcinea
© 2010 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
