During these days, the 39th edition of the Congress of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). In this article we want to focus on one of our investigations presented there, which studies whether a higher concentration of heavy metals can interfere with fertility.
Relationship between heavy metals and infertility
As we have anticipated, the study “Non-Essential Trace Elements in women’s biofluids are associated with worse IVF outcomes in euploid single embryo transfer cycles”, developed by the IVI Foundation, was born with the aim of knowing the effect of the concentration of trace elements not essential in fertility, such as lead, mercury or arsenic. But also others less known such as strontium, tin, cesium and rubidium. In this sense, it must be taken into account that we are exposed to environmental pollutants on a daily basis during the time of reproductive age, which can compromise health in general and fertility in particular.
The results of said investigation showed that higher concentrations of the aforementioned non-essential trace elements are significantly related to a lower ovarian response and worse embryological results in IVF treatments. On the other hand, high levels of arsenic in the urine collected on the day of the embryo transfer implied worse results in said treatment.
“Without doubt, these results suggest a direct impact between non-essential trace element levels and IVF treatment outcomes. It is still early to go further and see its origin, but we can sense that they could be associated with frequent components in our diet such as mercury in fish, excessive consumption of rice that can lead to the appearance of arsenic levels or the possible presence of strontium in cereals, leafy vegetables and dairy products, for example. To all this we must add our exposure to these non-essential traces at the environmental level “explains the doctor Francisco Dominguezresearcher of the IVI Foundation and study supervisor.
How the study was carried out
In order to develop this research, the presence of said metals in the follicular fluid, plasma and urine was analyzed on the day of ovarian puncture and embryo transfer. In addition, there have been 51 patients with a mean age of 39 years. Among them, 50% were non-smokers. All the patients underwent IVF treatment in which a single euploid embryo -chromosomally normal- was transferred in our clinics in Spain.
“These results are preliminary and need to be confirmed in a larger group of participants”, adds Dr. Domínguez, as a recommendation to be able to expand the results and issue a recommendation. All this with the aim of understanding in greater detail the mechanisms that have led to these associations. “Not all people react in the same way to exposure to these elements and it is also necessary to correlate other variables associated with environmental factors and lifestyle”concludes Dr. Domínguez.
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Whatever the case that has brought you to our clinics, at IVI we can help you make your dream of having a baby come true. To do this, we analyze each case in a unique way and approach it in a personalized way. Thanks to this, we have been leading the way in assisted reproduction for more than 30 years and we help thousands of women every year. Do you want to be next? Make an appointment and we will fulfill your dream of being a mother.
