Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 28;14(19):4042.
doi: 10.3390/nu14194042.

Insights into Modifiable Risk Factors of Infertility: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Wentao Xu  1 , Yueyuan You  1 , Tianqi Yu  1 , Jing Li  1
Affiliations

Insights into Modifiable Risk Factors of Infertility: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Wentao Xu et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Objective: Observational studies have linked lifestyle, diet, obesity, and biochemical measures with infertility. Whether this association is causal is unclear. We sought to identify the causal relationship between modifiable risk factors with infertility.

Methods: Using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as a genetic instrument variable, we carried out a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to estimate the causal effects for 22 modifiable risk factors on female infertility (6481 cases; 75,450 participants) and male infertility (680 cases; 73,479 participants).

Results: The results of the study showed that BMI (OR: 1.24, 95% CI (1.09, 1.40)), body fat percentage (OR: 1.73, 95% CI (1.13, 2.64)), and alcohol consumption (OR: 6.57,95% CI (1.2, 36.14)) are associated with a higher risk of male infertility, and total fatty acids (OR: 1.16, 95% CI (1.03, 1.30), omega-6 fatty acids (OR: 1.14, 95% CI (1.00, 1.27)), and monounsaturated fatty acids (OR: 1.14, 95% CI (1.03, 1.28) are associated with a higher risk of infertility in women. We observed that higher education (OR: 0.77, 95% CI (0.64, 0.92)) was a protective factor for female infertility.

Conclusions: BMI, body fat percentage, and alcohol consumption are risk factors for male infertility; total fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, and monounsaturated fatty acids are risk factors for female infertility, and education is a protective factor for female infertility.

Keywords: Mendelian randomization; causal inference; infertility; modifiable risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Forest plot of MR analysis between modifiable risk factors and female infertility.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of MR analysis between modifiable risk factors and male infertility.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Male Infertility.
    Niederberger C. Niederberger C. J Urol. 2023 May;209(5):1011-1013. doi: 10.1097/JU.0000000000003205. Epub 2023 Feb 20. J Urol. 2023. PMID: 36802934 No abstract available.

References

    1. Boivin J., Bunting L., Collins J.A., Nygren K.G. international estimates of infertility prevalence and treatment-seeking: Potential need and demand for infertility medical care. Hum. Reprod. 2007;22:1506–1512. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dem046. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Patra S., Unisa S. Addressing reproductive health knowledge, infertility and coping strategies among rural women in India. J. Biosoc. Sci. 2021;53:557–565. doi: 10.1017/S0021932020000371. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Inhorn M.C., Patrizio P. Infertility around the globe: New thinking on gender, reproductive technologies and global movements in the 21st century. Hum. Reprod. Update. 2015;21:411–426. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmv016. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sharma R., Biedenharn K.R., Fedor J.M., Agarwal A. Lifestyle factors and reproductive health: Taking control of your fertility. Reprod. Biol. Endocrinol. RBE. 2013;11:66. doi: 10.1186/1477-7827-11-66. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Broughton D.E., Moley K.H. Obesity and female infertility: Potential mediators of obesity’s impact. Fertil. Steril. 2017;107:840–847. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.01.017. - DOI - PubMed