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pubmed:otherAbstract |
PIP: The effect of alcohol consumption on the probability of conception was investigated in a prospective study of 430 Danish couples seeking to achieve pregnancy for the first time. Couples were recruited through a national mailing to trade union members and followed for six menstrual cycles after contraception discontinuation or until a clinically recognized pregnancy occurred. Mean weekly alcohol intake was 4.0 drinks among women and 9.5 drinks among their male partners; 73 women (17%) abstained from alcohol drinking throughout the six cycles. During the study period, 179 (64%) of the 280 women with an average weekly alcohol intake of less than five drinks and 75 (55%) of the 136 women with a higher intake conceived. Among male partners, these rates were 67% and 58%, respectively. After adjustment for cycle number, smoking, enrollment center, diseases of the reproductive system, body mass index, sperm concentration, and menstrual cycle duration, the odds ratio decreased with increasing alcohol consumption from 0.61 (95% confidence interval, 0.40-0.93) among women who consumed 1-5 drinks a week to 0.55 (95% CI, 0.36-0.85) among those reporting 6-10 drinks a week to 0.34 (95% CI, 0.22-0.52) among women consuming 11-15 drinks a week compared with women with no alcohol intake. No dose-response relationship was found in male partners after adjustment for the same confounders. Although these findings require further corroboration, they suggest that even moderate alcohol consumption has a significant adverse effect on fecundability.
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