IVF Treatment undermined by Smoking
Couples having IVF treatment are told smoking can cut success rates.
Dutch researchers, from 12 hospitals across the Netherlands, looked at data for 8,457 women who had undergone one cycle of IVF treatment between 1983 and 1995. All had being trying to become pregnant for at least a year.
Older women had lower IVF success rates no matter what the cause of their fertility problems was. The live birth rate for smokers was 28% lower than non-smokers. Among women with unexplained subfertility, the live birth rate was a third lower for smokers, at 13% compared to 20% for non-smokers.The miscarriage risk was a fifth higher for smokers in this group compared to non-smokers, at 21.4% compared to 16.4%.
A UK expert said being able to say by how much might encourage more to quit. Mr Les Vasey a Consultant with MHS warned that smoking could add 10 years to a woman’s reproductive age, whatever age she actually is.
He said ’It is already well known that smoking affected female natural fertility as well as posing a serious health risk to other biological functions’
Cotinine testing of patients
IVF treatment services are being encouraged to undertake cotinine testing on patients prior to and during IVF treatment to estimate risk factors. ‘There is good evidence previously published in the BMJ that Nicoscreen® Cotinine tests provide positive therapeutic benefits by providing bi-feedback to the smokers involved. This has produced a significant 17% benefit in smoking cessation programmes.’ said expert Les Vasey
Mr Vasey went on to say, ’The therapeutic benefits of testing has been understood by practitioners in the field of drug addiction for a number of years. Nicotine addiction can be tackled in similar ways for nicotine dependent patients.’’ Working with the IVF clinicians to evaluate the cotinine levels being detected is an effect method of managing smoking reduction’
Professor Didi Braat from Radbound University, who worked on the study, said: “Smoking has a devastating impact.” But she added: “This also indicates that subfertile couples may help their chances of successful treatment by life-style changes.
“As the effects of smoking and being overweight were greatest among women with unexplained subfertility, these results suggest that this group in particular may be able to improve the outcome of subfertility treatment by quitting smoking and losing weight.”
Dr Simon Fishel, a specialist at the UK’s Care in the Park fertility clinics, said: “We know that smoking reduces a woman’s chance of having a live birth and of getting pregnant, and 10 years sounds about right in terms of quantifying the effect.
“One thing couples know is that age is a significant factor in IVF success.
“So if you say to them that by smoking, they give themselves the same chance of success as if they were 10 years older, it brings home to them the effect the habit has.”
Tags: Fertility., IVF Treatment, Nicotine and fertility, Pregnancy and smoking, Smoking and IVF