Dietary patterns and ovarian reserve among women attending a fertility clinic

Objective To investigate the associations between dietary patterns and antral follicle count (AFC), a marker of ovarian reserve. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Fertility center at an academic hospital. Patient(s) A total of 363 women seeking preconception evaluation and infertility care at the Massachusetts General Hospital who participated in the Environment and Reproductive Health Study. Intervention(s) None. At enrollment, women reported diet through a food frequency questionnaire, from which we computed three dietary pattern adherence scores: the Mediterranean diet, the Fertility diet, and the Profertility diet. Main Outcome Measure(s) The AFC was assessed with a transvaginal ultrasound performed on the third day of an unstimulated menstrual cycle or on the third day of a P withdrawal bleed. Result(s) Higher adherence to the three dietary patterns examined were unrelated to AFC. The multivariable adjusted AFC means and 95% confidence intervals for women in the highest compared with the lowest quartile of adherence score were 13.9 (13.0–14.9) and 13.5 (12.6–14.4) for the Mediterranean diet, 14.0 (13.2–14.9) and 13.5 (12.7–14.3) for the Fertility diet, and 12.5 (11.6–13.5) and 13.3 (12.5–14.2) for the Profertility diet. Conclusion(s) Dietary patterns were unrelated to AFC among a cohort of women presenting at a fertility center. Due to the limited and heterogeneous current evidence, it is important to evaluate this association in further studies, and in particular among women from the general population.