Female Fertility Not Improved by Antioxidant Use



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Female Fertility Not Improved by Antioxidant Use

Antioxidant supplements do not increase a woman’s chances of conceiving when compared with placebo or no treatment, according to a systematic review published online August 5 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Marian G. Showell, MPH, from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and colleagues reviewed 28 randomized controlled trials that evaluated the use of oral antioxidants compared with placebo, no treatment, standard treatment, or another antioxidant. The 3548 women enrolled in the trials were attending reproductive clinics. Trials comparing antioxidants with fertility drugs or those that exclusively included fertile women were excluded. The antioxidants evaluated included pentoxifylline, N-acetyl-cysteine, melatonin, L-arginine, vitamin E, myo-inositol, vitamin C, vitamin D plus calcium, and omega-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Dr. Showell and colleagues found that compared with placebo, or no treatment/standard treatment, antioxidants were not associated with an increased live birth rate (odds ratio [OR], 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.19 – 8.26; P = .82) in subfertile women. In addition, they saw no increase in the clinical pregnancy rate among women taking antioxidants compared with those taking placebo or no treatment/standard treatment (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.92 – 1.85; P = .14).

The authors did note that pentoxifylline was associated with an increased clinical pregnancy rate compared with placebo/no treatment (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.19 – 3.44; P = .009); however, there were only 3 studies included in the evaluation.

Adverse effects were reported in 14 trials, including miscarriage, multiple pregnancies, ectopic pregnancy, and gastrointestinal effects. The authors found that women taking antioxidants experienced no more adverse effects than those receiving placebo/no treatment.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Published online August 5, 2013. Abstract

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