Association of Micronutrient Intakes with Female Infertility: Review of Recent Evidence

Abstract

Context: Oxidative stress is one of the factors related to the pathogenesis of fertility disorders such as idiopathic infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and endometriosis. Hence, the role of micronutrients has attracted the attention of researchers to the extent that some studies have investigated the role of vitamins and minerals in the risk of female infertility. This study aimed to summarize the literatures regarding the association between micronutrient intakes and female infertility. Evidence Acquisition: Literature searching for studies on female infertility and micronutrient intakes, published between January 1984 and November 2014, was performed using the PubMed and Embase databases. The bibliographies of included studies were also searched for additional references. Results: About 100 articles were identified and after the elimination of irrelevant studies, 28 related studies available for review were examined. Researches have demonstrated that in women with idiopathic infertility, total antioxidant status and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and homocysteine (Hcys) were respectively lower and higher. Moreover, some studies have shown that higher intake of iron, folic acid, and vitamins D and E may play a beneficial role in female infertility. However, a number of other studies have not attained such results for vitamin C and N-acetylcysteine. Conclusions: Studies revealed that micronutrient intakes play a substantial role in preventing or facilitating female infertility. Further studies are needed to evaluate this association.