Obesity affects spontaneous pregnancy chances in subfertile, ovulatory women

Jan Willem Van Der Steeg, Pieternel Steures, Marinus J.C. Eijkemans, J. Dik F. Habbema, Peter G.A. Hompes, Jan M. Burggraaff, G. Jur E. Oosterhuis, Patrick M.M. Bossuyt, Fulco Van Der Veen, Ben W.J. Mol

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Obesity is increasing rapidly among women all over the world. Obesity is a known risk factor for subfertility due to anovulation, but it is unknown whether obesity also affects spontaneous pregnancy chances in subfertile, ovulatory women. METHODS: We evaluated whether obesity affected the chance of a spontaneous pregnancy in a prospectively assembled cohort of 3029 consecutive subfertile couples. Women had to be ovulatory and had to have at least one patent tube, whereas men had to have a normal semen analysis. Time to spontaneous ongoing pregnancy within 12 months was the primary endpoint. RESULTS: The probability of a spontaneous pregnancy declined linearly with a body mass index (BMI) over 29 kg/m2. Corrected for possible related factors, women with a high BMI had a 4% lower pregnancy rate per kg/m 2 increase [hazard ratio: 0.96 (95% CI 0.91-0.99)]. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that obesity is associated with lower pregnancy rates in subfertile ovulatory women.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)324-328
Number of pages5
JournalHuman Reproduction
Volume23
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Obesity
  • Pregnancy chance
  • Spontaneous conception
  • Subfertility

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