Obesity and time to pregnancy
D C Gesink Law1, R F Maclehose, M P Longnecker
1Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. dionne.gesinklaw@montana.edu
Human Reproduction (Oxford, England)
|November 11, 2006
Summary
Obesity is linked to lower fertility, particularly in obese women. Weight loss may improve fertility for overweight and obese women, irrespective of other factors like cycle regularity or age.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Endocrinology
- Human Reproduction
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Obesity is a potential factor affecting female fecundity.
- Understanding the relationship between obesity and fertility is crucial for reproductive health strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and fecundity.
- To explore how factors like menstrual cycle regularity, parity, smoking, and age modify this association.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 7327 pregnant women in the Collaborative Perinatal Project (1959-1965).
- Analyzed prepregnancy BMI continuously and categorically (underweight, optimal, overweight, obese).
- Employed Cox proportional hazards modeling to estimate adjusted fecundability odds ratios (FORs).
Main Results:
- Fecundity was reduced in overweight (OR=0.92) and obese (OR=0.82) women compared to optimal weight women.
- The reduction in fecundity was more pronounced in obese, primiparous women (OR=0.66).
- Reduced fecundity persisted in overweight and obese women even with regular menstrual cycles; age and smoking did not modify the association.
Conclusions:
- Obesity is associated with decreased fecundity across various subgroups, including women with regular cycles.
- Weight loss interventions could potentially enhance fecundity in overweight and obese women.
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