Nutrition/Obesity
The Role of Vegetarian Diets on Pregnancy and Live Birth among Couples Undergoing Infertility Treatment Quynh Long Khuong* Quynh Long Khuong Stefanie Hinkle Ellen Caniglia Enrique Schisterman Julia DiTosto Chanele Lomax Erica Johnstone Pauline Mendola Jim Hotaling Ginny Ryan Matthew Peterson Douglas Carrell Bradley VanVoorhis Sunni Mumford
Introduction: In recent years, many people have followed vegetarian diets due to the potential benefits for metabolic diseases. However, evidence on the effect of vegetarian diets on fertility outcomes is scarce, especially the combined impact of both partners. This study investigated the association of female and male partner vegetarian diets on pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and live birth.
Methods: We used data from the Folic Acid and Zinc Supplementation Trial (FAZST) conducted among couples seeking infertility treatment (females aged 18-45, males aged 18+ years). Individuals self-reported whether they followed a vegetarian diet. We grouped couples based on whether both partners, only one partner, or neither partner followed a vegetarian diet. Log-binomial models evaluated associations between vegetarian diets and pregnancy outcomes, including β-hCG-detected pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, and pregnancy loss, and live birth, adjusting for relevant confounders. Models for pregnancy loss utilized inverse probability weights to account for selection bias.
Results: Of 2120 couples, 19 followed a vegetarian diet together, while 60 had one partner who followed this diet. Of these 60 couples, 9 vegetarians were male and 51 were female. Compared to couples with neither partner on a vegetarian diet, couples where both partners followed a vegetarian diet had higher probabilities of pregnancy and live birth, with RR (95% CI) of 1.27 (0.97–1.66), 1.27 (1.03–1.55), and 1.36 (0.91–2.06) for β-hCG-detected pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, and live birth, respectively. No association was observed for pregnancy loss, with an RR of 1.08 (0.60–1.97). No differences were observed comparing couples with one vegetarian partner to those with no vegetarians.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest a potential benefit on pregnancy and live birth if both partners follow a vegetarian diet. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings.