A prospective study of physical activity and fecundability in women with a history of pregnancy loss

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONIs physical activity (PA) associated with fecundability in women with a history of prior pregnancy loss?SUMMARY ANSWERHigher fecundability was related to walking among overweight/obese women and to vigorous PA in women overall.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYPA may influence fecundability through altered endocrine function. Studies evaluating this association have primarily utilized Internet-based recruitment and self-report for pregnancy assessment and have yielded conflicting results.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONThis is a secondary analysis of the Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction (EAGeR) trial (2007 –2011), a multisite, randomized controlled trial of preconception-initiated low-dose aspirin.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSHealthy women (n = 1214), aged 18 –40 and with 1–2 prior pregnancy losses, were recruited from four US medical centers. Participants were followed for up to six menstrual cycles while attempting pregnancy and through pregnancy for those who became pregnant. Time to hCG detected pregnancy was assessed using discrete-time Cox prop ortional hazard models to estimate fecundability odds ratios (FOR) adjusted for covariates, accounting for left truncation and right censoring.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEThe association of walking with fecundability varied significantly by BMI (P-interaction = 0.01). Among overweight/obese women, walking ≥10 min at a time was related to improved fecundability (FOR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1....
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research