title: Male soy food intake was not associated with in vitro fertilization outcomes among couples attending a fertility center.
abstract: Male factor etiology may be a contributing factor in up to 60% of infertility cases. Dietary intake of phytoestrogens has been related to abnormal semen quality and hormone levels. However, its effect on couple fecundity is still unclear. Intake of soy products was assessed in 184 men from couples undergoing infertility treatment with in vitro fertilization. Couples were recruited between February 2007 and May 2014 and prospectively followed to document treatment outcomes including fertilization, implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth. Multivariate generalized linear mixed models with random intercepts, binomial distribution and logit link function were used to examine this relation while accounting for repeated treatment cycles and adjusting for potential confounders. Male partner's intake of soy foods and soy isoflavones was unrelated to fertilization rates, the proportions of poor quality embryos, accelerated or slow embryo cleavage rate, and implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth. The adjusted live birth rates per initiated cycle (95% CI) for partners of men in increasing categories of soy food intake were 0.36 (0.28-0.45), 0.42 (0.29-0.56), 0.36 (0.24-0.51), and 0.37 (0.24-0.52), respectively. Soy food intake in men was not related to clinical outcomes among couples presenting at an infertility clinic. Data on the relation between phytoestrogens and male reproductive potential remain scarce and additional research is required to clarify its role in human reproduction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mínguez-Alarcón
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Afeiche
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Y-H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Pontificia University Javeriana Medical School, Bogota, Colombia.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Vanegas
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tanrikut
authors.affiliation: Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Toth
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.|Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.|Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Chavarro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011446:Prospective Studies; D045730:Soy Foods / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D007529:Isoflavones
keywords: ICSI; IVF; epidemiology; male reproductive health; soy intake