Mediterranean diet improves blastocyst formation in women previously infected COVID-19: a prospective cohort study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to investigate the effect of the Mediterranean Diet on assisted reproductive treatment outcomes in women after COVID-19 infection.
Results Summary
High adherence to the Mediterranean Diet was associated with improved blastocyst formation rates, and there was a trend toward higher clinical pregnancy, implantation, and ongoing pregnancy rates, though these were not statistically significant.
Population
Women previously infected with COVID-19 undergoing assisted reproductive treatment.
Effective Dosage
Not specified (adherence measured by MeDiet score: low, moderate, high).
Duration
February 2023 to August 2023 (6 months).
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | increase | blastocyst formation rate | women after COVID-19 infection | 46.08% in MeDiet scored 8-14 points women vs 41.75% in low adherence and 40.07% in moderate adherence | is significantly higher | #1 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | no change | follicle number on hCG day | women after COVID-19 infection | - | are comparable | #2 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | no change | yield oocytes | women after COVID-19 infection | - | are comparable | #3 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | no change | normal fertilized zygotes | women after COVID-19 infection | - | are comparable | #4 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | no change | fertilization rate | women after COVID-19 infection | - | are comparable | #5 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | no change | day three embryos (cleavage embryos) | women after COVID-19 infection | - | are comparable | #6 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | no change | embryo quality | women after COVID-19 infection | - | are comparable | #7 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | increase | clinical pregnancy rate | women after COVID-19 infection who received embryo transfer | 62.37% vs. 76.09% vs. 81.25% | an obvious trend that with the higher MeDiet score, the higher clinical pregnancy rate | #8 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | increase | implantation rate | women after COVID-19 infection who received embryo transfer | 55.84% vs. 66.44% vs. 69.23% | an obvious trend that with the higher MeDiet score, the higher implantation rate | #9 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | increase | ongoing pregnancy rate | women after COVID-19 infection who received embryo transfer | 61.22% vs. 75.00% vs. 81.25% | an obvious trend that with the higher MeDiet score, the higher ongoing pregnancy rate | #10 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | increase | blastocyst formation | women after COVID-19 infection | - | is associated with improved | #11 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | increase | clinical pregnancy | women after COVID-19 infection | - | a trend that high adherence to MeDiet might be beneficial to | #12 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | increase | embryo implantation | women after COVID-19 infection | - | a trend that high adherence to MeDiet might be beneficial to | #13 |
Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) | increase | ongoing pregnancy | women after COVID-19 infection | - | a trend that high adherence to MeDiet might be beneficial to | #14 |
OBJECTIVES: Our study tries to investigate the effect of the Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) on assisted reproductive treatment outcomes in women after COVID-19 infection. DESIGN: A prospective observational cohort study in the Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya from February 2023 to August 2023.Subjects: A total of 605 participants previously infected with COVID-19 were enrolled. EXPOSURE: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: The primary outcomes are oocyte and embryo quality. The secondary outcomes are pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: A majority of participants (n = 517) followed low to moderate MeDiet, and only a small group of them (n = 88) followed high MeDiet. The blastocyst formation rate is significantly higher in MeDiet scored 8-14 points women (46.08%), compared to the other two groups (which is 41.75% in the low adherence population and 40.07% in the moderate adherence population respectively) (p = 0.044). However, the follicle number on hCG day, yield oocytes, normal fertilized zygotes, fertilization rate, day three embryos (cleavage embryos), and embryo quality are comparable among the three groups. For those who received embryo transfer, we noticed an obvious trend that with the higher MeDiet score, the higher clinical pregnancy rate (62.37% vs. 76.09% vs. 81.25%, p = 0.197), implantation rate (55.84% vs. 66.44% vs. 69.23%, p = 0.240) and ongoing pregnancy rate (61.22% vs. 75.00% vs. 81.25%, p = 0.152) even though the p values are not significant. An enlarging sample size study, especially in a high adherence population should be designed to further verify the effects of MeDiet's role in improving IVF performance. CONCLUSION: High adherence to MeDiet is associated with improved blastocyst formation in women after COVID-19 infection. There is also a trend that high adherence to MeDiet might be beneficial to clinical pregnancy, embryo implantation as well as ongoing pregnancy in these women.