Diet-Related Inflammation linked to Increased Risk of Infertility in Women

A new study provided compelling evidence of a crucial connection between a woman's diet and her risk of infertility. The study unveiled a significant association between a proinflammatory diet and it increasing the risk of infertility in women by 86%. The study results were published in the Nutrition Journal on 22 July 2023. 

Infertility is one of the global social problems affecting women worldwide. The therapeutic techniques are financially draining leading the women to choose many alternate treatments. Many times modifiable factors can help overcome infertility. In recent years, the influence of nutrition on reproductive health has garnered increasing attention from researchers and health experts. While much has been explored in this realm, a critical link between diet-related inflammation and the risk of infertility in women has remained somewhat elusive. 

Hence researchers from Kermanshah, Iran conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the ability of the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) to estimate infertility incidence in Iranian women. The study was carried out by utilizing data from the Ravansar non-communicable diseases (RaNCD) cohort study, encompassing a significant sample size of 4437 participants. Central to the study was the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), a specialized metric designed to gauge the inflammatory potential of an individual's diet.

To compute the DII, participants' dietary patterns were meticulously recorded, spanning up to 31 different food parameters. These extensive dietary records were collected through a validated and reproducible 118-item food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The subsequent analysis employed advanced statistical methods, including multiple logistic regression, to calculate the multivariable odds ratio (OR), thoughtfully adjusted for potential confounding variables. 

The findings of the study were both eye-opening and significant. Out of the diverse pool of participants, a substantial 9.26% of women were found to be dealing with infertility. These women, on average, had an age of 43.67 years and weighed approximately 72.86 kg. The research unearthed that women in the fourth quartile, indicating a pro-inflammatory diet, faced a staggering 1.76 times higher odds of infertility compared to those in the first quartile, representing an anti-inflammatory diet. 

The implications of this study are profound and underscore the need for a broader understanding of the role of nutrition in reproductive health. These findings provide compelling evidence that the quality of a woman's diet can play a pivotal role in her fertility journey. The authors suggest that interventions and programs aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles and advocating for the adoption of balanced, anti-inflammatory diets may prove to be effective approaches in both the prevention and treatment of infertility in women. 

Further reading: Moludi, J., Kamari, N., Darbandi, M. et al. Association between dietary inflammatory index and infertility of women; Results from RaNCD Cohort Study. Nutr J 22, 35 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-023-00865-6