A new study, presented at the ESHRE 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam, suggests that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) prior to egg retrieval in IVF (in vitro fertilization) can reduce the chances of a live birth by nearly forty percent.
The study primarily looked at PM10 exposure within 15 days of egg collection. Consequently, the likelihood of a live birth at higher (18.63 – 35.42 µg/m3) vis-à-vis lower (7.08 -12.92 µg/m3) levels of exposure was 38% lower.
During egg retrieval and embryo transfer, the median ages of the females were at 34.5 and 36.1 years respectively. Air pollution levels were quantified at different points in time prior to ovum pick-up; one week, two weeks, four weeks and three months.”
Besides, the research found that lower live birth rates were negatively correlated with increased PM2.5 exposure over the three months before egg retrieval with chances that decreased from 0.90 in the second quartile to 0.66 in the fourth quartile.
Even though the study’s air quality was generally good, pollution’s detrimental effects were evident. Only 0.4% and 4.5% of study days had PM10 and PM2.5 levels above WHO recommendations, respectively.
“This is the first study to use frozen embryo transfer cycles to separately analyse the effects of pollutant exposure during egg development and early pregnancy stages,” lead author Dr. Sebastian Leathersich said. Our results demonstrate that pollution has an impact on egg quality at all stages of pregnancy, not just the early ones.”
Over 4 million premature deaths occur each year as a result of outdoor air pollution, making it a serious health risk.
“Pollution and climate change pose serious risks to human health, including reproductive health. Pollution and lower live birth rates in IVF cycles are strongly correlated, even in areas with good air quality. Reducing exposure to pollution ought to be a top priority for public health, according to Dr. Leathersich.
According to the researchers, this study shows a strong correlation between air pollution and poorer IVF success rates.