A Nutrition Screening Form for Female Infertility Patients

Abstract

A Nutrition Screening Form (NSF) was designed to identify lifestyle risk factors that negatively impact fertility and to provide a descriptive profile of 300 female infertility patients in a private urban infertility clinic. The NSF was mailed to all new patients prior to the initial physician's visit and self-reported data were assessed using specific criteria to determine if a nutrition referral was warranted. This observational study revealed that 43% of the women had a body mass index (BMI) <20 or ≥25 kg/m2, known risks for infertility. Almost half reported a history of “dieting” and unrealistic weight goals potentially limiting energy and essential nutrients. A high number reported eating disorders, vegetarianism, low fat or low cholesterol diets, and dietary supplement use. Fourteen percent appeared not to supplement with folic acid, 13% rated exercise as “extremely” or “very active”, and 28% reported a “high” perceived level of stress. This preliminary research demonstrated that a NSF can be a useful tool to identify nutrition-related lifestyle factors that may negatively impact fertility and identified weight, BMI, diet, exercise, and stress as modifiable risk factors deserving future research. NSF information can help increase awareness among health professionals and patients about the important link between nutrition, fertility, and successful reproductive outcomes.