Dietary Carbohydrate Intake, Dietary Glycemic Load and Outcomes of In Vitro Fertilization: Findings from an Observational Italian Cohort Study

Abstract

In recent decades, increasing attention has been paid to the influence of diet on reproductive health. Carbohydrates in diet affect glucose metabolism and multiple evidences showed the key role of insulin sensitivity in regulating female fertility. We designed a prospective cohort study to investigate the relation between dietary carbohydrate intake, glycemic load (GL) and the outcomes of assisted reproduction. A population of 494 female partners of couples referring to an Italian Fertility Center and eligible for in vitro fertilization (IVF) were enrolled in the study. On the day of the oocyte retrieval, information on their diet was obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). We calculated the relative risk and 95% confidence interval of embryo transfer, clinical pregnancy and live birth according to the following dietary exposures: GL, glycemic index (GI) as well as the daily carbohydrate and fiber intake. A multiple regression model was used to account for the confounders. After adjusting for age, college degree, body mass index (BMI), leisure physical activity and previous assisted reproduction techniques (ART) cycles, no significant association was observed between the considered dietary exposures and the IVF outcomes. The roles of GL, carbohydrate intake and GI were assessed in strata of the cause of infertility and body mass index and no relation emerged in this further analysis. We found no clear association between the dietary carbohydrate quantity and quality and IVF outcomes in a cohort of infertile Italian women.