Association between preconception maternal beverage intake and in vitro fertilization outcomes

Objective To study whether maternal intake of beverage type affects IVF outcomes. Design A prospective study. Setting Tertiary, university-affiliated center. Patient(s) Three hundred forty women undergoing IVF from 2014 through 2016 for infertility as well as for pregenetic diagnosis for autosomal recessive diseases were enrolled during ovarian stimulation and completed a questionnaire describing their usual beverage consumption. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) IVF outcomes were abstracted from medical records. Total caffeine intake was estimated by summing the caffeine content for specific beverages multiplied by frequency of intake. Associations between specific types of beverages and IVF outcomes were analyzed using Poisson and logistic regression models adjusting for possible confounders. Result(s) Higher intake of sugared soda was associated with lower total, mature, and fertilized oocytes and top-quality embryos after ovarian stimulation. Women who consumed sugared soda had, on average, 1.1 fewer oocytes retrieved, 1.2 fewer mature oocytes retrieved, 0.6 fewer fertilized oocytes, and 0.6 fewer top-quality embryos compared with women who did not consume sugared soda. Furthermore, compared with women who did not drink sugared soda, the adjusted difference in percent of cycles resulting in live birth for women consuming 0.1–1 cups/day and >1 cup/day were −12% and −16%, respectively. No associations were found between consumption of coffee, caffeine, or diet sodas and IVF outcome. Conclusion(s) Sugared beverages, independent of their caffeine content, may be a bigger threat to reproductive success than caffeine and caffeinated beverages without added sugar.