Maternal physical activity and sedentary behaviour before and during in vitro fertilization treatment: a longitudinal study exploring the associations with controlled ovarian stimulation and pregnancy outcomes

Abstract

Purpose To evaluate the association of objectively measured physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour before and during in vitro fertilization (IVF) with controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) and pregnancy outcomes. Methods This longitudinal study involved 107 infertile women undergoing IVF treatment. PA and sedentary behaviour were measured for 14 consecutive days using accelerometry as follows: (1) before IVF treatment, (2) during IVF at the implantation time, immediately after embryo transfer, and (3) after positive pregnancy test. Total screen time was assessed by questionnaires. COS results were measured as the number of oocytes and embryos obtained, and the study outcomes included positive hCG, clinical pregnancy, and live birth. Results Compared with baseline activity levels, women significantly reduced their PA and increased sedentary behaviour during IVF (p ≤ 0.001). Higher average PA, light PA, and ratio between breaks in every ≥ 30-min blocks of sedentary time showed positive associations, while sedentary time, number, and time accumulated in blocks of ≥ 30 min of sedentary time associated negatively with oocyte and embryo counts (all p < 0.05). Women with high total screen time during non-work days (≥ 7 h) obtained 4.7 oocytes (p = 0.005) and 2.8 embryos (p = 0.008) less in COS. PA and sedentary behaviour before and during IVF did not affect the positive hCG, clinical pregnancy, and live birth outcomes.Key message Higher levels of light physical activity and shorter sedentary behaviour and screen-watching times before entering infertility treatment associate with better ovarian stimulation outcomes under IVF treatment protocols.

Physical and Sedentary Activities in Association with Reproductive Outcomes among Couples Seeking Infertility Treatment: A Prospective Cohort Study

“…Our findings do not support either an association of the separate physical and sedentary activity levels of the woman and man with the chance to get pregnant and to have a baby. This is in line with previous findings, where no associations of objectively measured physical and sedentary activities in women before and during IVF treatment with IVF outcomes such as implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth were detected [ 21 , 37 ]. Additionally, a recent preconception prospective cohort study on 785 women with a previous history of a pregnancy loss analyzed self-reported PA and did not detect any effect of PA on the clinical pregnancy loss [ 38 ].…”

“…Although this is an observational study and causality need to be demonstrated in future randomized controlled trials, our findings support the notion that PA could positively interfere with couples’ general reproductive health. Additionally, previous studies are suggesting that PA may have beneficial effect on general reproductive health rather than on a specific ART treatment outcomes, like embryo implantation and pregnancy rate [ 21 , 37 ]. Evenson et al detected beneficial effect of PA in women who were active in the year preceding infertility treatment having more likely favorable pregnancy outcome [ 37 ].…”

“…Evenson et al detected beneficial effect of PA in women who were active in the year preceding infertility treatment having more likely favorable pregnancy outcome [ 37 ]. Sõritsa et al study found that higher baseline PA and lower baseline sedentary activities were associated with better response for hormonal ovarian stimulation, while no effects on embryo implantation and pregnancy establishment were detected [ 21 ]. Similarly, PA has been positively associated with semen quality in men [ 18 , 20 , 45 ], but did not associate with higher reproductive success in infertility treatment outcomes [ 20 ].…”

“…In fact, no consensus has been reached regarding the effect of PA during ART on pregnancy outcomes [ 15 ]. The few studies of female and male PA in association with ART success have reported mixed results [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Nevertheless, the general belief is that doing regular PA is good for female [ 6 , 7 , 22 ] and male fertility [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 23 , 24 ], while high intensity and frequency of PA [ 25 ] or low PA or extensive sedentary time can increase subfertility and infertility [ 19 , 23 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…Further, previous studies on PA and fertility/infertility have analyzed either female or male partners of the couples separately [ 6 , 8 , 21 , 23 , 30 , 31 ], and no study has assessed the couples’ combined PA and sedentary activities on reproductive success. To our knowledge, the only study that has focused on the couples, analyzed different lifestyle factors including PA in couples seeking infertility treatment, while no joint effect of couples’ PA on ART was investigated [ 32 ].…”