title: Alcohol and Difficulty Conceiving in the SUN Cohort: A Nested Case-Control Study.
abstract: The role of alcohol on fertility remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages consumption and the risk of difficulty getting pregnant. We used a case-control study nested within the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort, a prospective, dynamic and multipurpose cohort of 21,705 Spanish university graduates, followed biennially with mailed questionnaires. We identified 686 case-control pairs, matched for age and time in the cohort. Cases were women reporting difficulty getting pregnant. Controls did not consult due to difficulty conceiving and had at least one child during follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounders, we found no association between self-reported difficulty getting pregnant and the number of alcoholic beverages consumed per week, (Odds Ratio [OR] > 5 drinks/week vs. none = 1.04, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.72-1.51). No association between types of alcoholic beverage and difficulty conceiving (OR > 5 drinks of wine/week vs. none = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.72-1.88; OR > 5 drinks of beer/week vs. none = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.82-1.37; OR > 5 drinks of spirits/week vs. none = 1.24, 95% CI = 0.84-1.64) was observed. In conclusion, we found no association between alcohol intake and risk of consulting a physician due to difficulty conceiving. More studies are needed to clearly elucidate the effects of alcohol intake on women's fertility. In the meantime, recommendations about alcohol intake to couples trying to conceive have to be given cautiously.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. cldelburgo@unav.es.|Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. cldelburgo@unav.es.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. cldelburgo@unav.es.|IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. cldelburgo@unav.es.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lopez-del Burgo
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu.|IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu.|Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 02115 Boston, MA, USA. jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gea
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. jdeirala@unav.es.|Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. jdeirala@unav.es.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. jdeirala@unav.es.|IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. jdeirala@unav.es.
authors.forename: Jokin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Irala
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. mamartinez@unav.es.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. mamartinez@unav.es.|IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. mamartinez@unav.es.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martínez-González
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 02115 Boston, MA, USA. jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu.|Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 02115 Boston, MA, USA. jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Chavarro
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.|IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.
authors.forename: Estefania
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Toledo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D001515:Beer / Q000009:adverse effects; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000209:etiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D014920:Wine / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: alcohol; beer; diet; fertility; nested case-control study; wine