Airborne toxins can cut pregnancy rate in half, study found
THURSDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) -- Women hoping to conceive through in-vitro fertilization may want to steer clear of secondhand smoke, a new study finds.
The study, published in the May 26 issue of Human Reproduction, found that "side-stream" smoking -- the smoke given off by a smoldering cigarette -- is just as powerful as direct smoking in inhibiting IVF success.
Canadian researchers at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences studied the quality of embryos and implantation rates of 225 women categorized as either smokers, nonsmokers or side-stream smokers. The study defined side-stream smokers as women who lived with someone who regularly smoked.
The three groups of women displayed no differences in the quality of their embryos. However, there were significant differences in pregnancy and implantation rates between the nonsmokers, smokers and side-stream smokers, the study found.
"Embryo quality and fertilization rates were similar in the three groups, but there was a significant difference in the pregnancy rates per embryo transfer," lead researcher Michael Neal, a doctoral candidate, said in a prepared statement. Overall, he said, the rate of successful pregnancy among nonsmokers was "around 48 percent," compared with 19 percent in smokers and 20 percent in women exposed to secondhand smoke in the home.
They added that "while nonsmokers achieved a 25 percent implantation rate, both smokers and side-stream smokers managed only around 12 percent," Neal said.
Based on these findings, the researchers said they are now warning all their patients about the potential hazards of secondhand smoke.
SOURCE: Human Reproduction, news release, May 26, 2005
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