On May 31, the world celebrates the World No Tobacco Day, with the aim of helping to protect present and future generations from the health consequences of tobacco. Among the negative side effects is infertility. For this reason, we have asked Dr. Anabel Salazar, director of IVI Málaga, about how tobacco affects fertility.
side effects of smoking
It is true that the prevalence of tobacco use has decreased in recent years, reaching 17% in the adult population. However, it is still high in couples of reproductive age, reaching figures of 20%.
At a general level, it is important to mention that every year 8 million people die in the world because of tobacco. It causes cancer, cardiovascular diseases, lung diseases… And also infertility.
Why does tobacco affect fertility?
Tobacco consumption ages us and limits us, and can cause early menopause between 1 and 4 years earlier than the non-smoking population. In addition, it seems that it is dose-dependent and that it accelerates the destruction of follicles and the loss of reproductive capacity. For example, basal FSH is significantly higher in young women who smoke compared to those who don’t. The same occurs with anti-Müllerian hormone values, since they are lower in non-smoking women, including passive smokers. In some studies it is found how the fall of this hormone is 20% faster in smokers, compared to non-smokers.
In assisted reproduction treatments, does it also influence?
Smoking also influences In Vitro Fertilization treatments, reducing the chances of success. In pregnant women, tobacco consumption affects the fetus, increasing the chances of premature birth, retarded growth, placental abruption, placenta previa or premature rupture of membranes.
Whether you smoke or are a passive smoker, you should know that the quality of the eggs or sperm is going to be affected, as if we were 10 years older. In addition, in women who smoke or are passive smokers there is a higher rate of abortions and ectopic pregnancies.
Reasons to stop smoking
Tobacco consumption also affects us economically, in addition to having effects on the environment, production processes, etc. With what we are contributing to leave our future children a planet in worse conditions.
Smoking is a personal choice, something you can do for yourself. To help you get pregnant and not wait for you to get the long-awaited positive. We are aware that nobody wants to have worse results. In addition, the efforts to quit tobacco are important and it is not always something easy to achieve, although the fact of wanting to be a mother can be a motivation. For this reason, we professionals must dedicate a few minutes of our time to making couples aware of everything I have just told you. It has been shown that good results are achieved with health education strategies in this subgroup of patients.
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