Scientists say air pollution reduces chances of successful IVF birth

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Air pollution reduces the chances of a successful birth through IVF , according to a new study.

Researchers found that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) before the retrieval of eggs during IVF can slash the odds of achieving a live birth by almost 40%.

The pioneering study analyzed PM10 exposure in the two weeks leading up to egg collection, finding the odds of a live birth.

Conducted over eight years in Perth, Australia, the research team analyzed 3,659 frozen embryo transfers from 1,836 patients. The average age of the women was 34.5 at the time of egg retrieval and 36.1 at the time of frozen embryo transfer.

The study examined air pollutant concentrations over four exposure periods prior to egg, or oocyte, retrieval: 24 hours, two weeks, four weeks, and three months.

Increasing PM2.5 exposure in the three months prior to egg retrieval was also associated with decreased odds of live birth.

The research team pointed out that the negative impact of air pollution was observed despite excellent overall air quality during the study period.

Study lead author Dr. Sebastian Leathersich said: "This is the first study that has used frozen embryo transfer cycles to separately analyze the effects of pollutant exposure during the development of eggs and around the time of embryo transfer and early pregnancy.

"We could therefore evaluate whether pollution was having an effect on the eggs themselves, or on the early stages of pregnancy.

“Our results reveal a negative linear association between particulate matter exposure during the two weeks and three months prior to oocyte collection and subsequent live birth rates from those oocytes.

"This association is independent of the air quality at the time of frozen embryo transfer.

"These findings suggest that pollution negatively affects the quality of the eggs, not just the early stages of pregnancy, which is a distinction that has not been previously reported.”

Outdoor, or ambient, air pollution is estimated to cause more than four million premature deaths per year worldwide.

Exposure to fine particulate matter is associated with a range of negative health issues, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

Dr. Leathersich said: “Climate change and pollution remain the greatest threats to human health, and human reproduction is not immune to this."

He added: "Even in a part of the world with exceptional air quality, where very few days exceed the internationally accepted upper limits for pollution, there is a strong negative correlation between the amount of air pollution and the live birth rate in frozen embryo transfer cycles.

"Minimising pollutant exposure must be a key public health priority.”

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Amsterdam, Holland.

Professor Dr. Anis Feki, Chair-Elect of ESHRE , welcomed the findings.

He said: "This important study highlights a significant link between air pollution and lower IVF success rates , with a notable reduction in live births associated with higher particulate matter exposure before oocyte retrieval."

Feki added: "These findings emphasize the need for ongoing attention to environmental factors in reproductive health.”

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