Use of multivitamins, intake of B vitamins, and risk of ovulatory infertility.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether use of multivitamins and intake of specific nutrients in multivitamins is associated with ovulatory infertility.


METHODS
A prospective cohort study.


METHODS
The Nurses' Health Study II.


METHODS
Eighteen thousand five hundred fifty-five married, premenopausal women without a history of infertility who attempted a pregnancy or became pregnant between 1991 and 1999.


METHODS
None, observational study.


METHODS
Incident reports of infertility caused by anovulation.


RESULTS
During 8 years of follow-up, 438 women reported infertility caused by ovulatory disorder. There was an inverse association between frequency of multivitamin use and ovulatory infertility. The multivariate-adjusted relative risk (95% confidence interval) of ovulatory infertility was 0.88 (0.60, 1.28) for women consuming two tablets per week or less, 0.69 (0.51, 0.95) for women consuming three to five tablets per week, and 0.59 (0.46, 0.75) for women consuming six or more tablets per week, when compared with women who did not use these supplements (P, trend <.001). Folic acid appeared to explain part of the association between multivitamin supplement use and risk of ovulatory infertility.


CONCLUSIONS
Regular use of multivitamin supplements may decrease the risk of ovulatory infertility.
Chavarro
Jorge E
JE
Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu
Rich-Edwards
Janet W
JW
Rosner
Bernard A
BA
Willett
Walter C
WC
D000328:Adult; D000858:Anovulation / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008019:Life Style; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010060:Ovulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014803:Vitamin B Complex / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D004338:Drug Combinations; D014815:Vitamins; D014803:Vitamin B Complex; D005492:Folic Acid