Effects of Periconceptual Omega-3-Fatty Acid Supplementation on in Vitro Fertilization Success and Miscarriage Rates in Patients of a German Fertility Centre

Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have been positively related with improvement of fertility in both women and men. Primary natural source of omega-3- fatty acids is seafood. As this also can bei the source of toxicants like f.e. lead, mercury and cadmium, reproductive benefits may be counteracted. Therefore, our approach was to supplement pharmaceutical grade omega-3-fatty acids in order to assess potential benefits of omega-3-fatty acids on modulation of IVF-success by dietary measures in a well-defined group of patients of a German Fertility Centre. A group of 52 IVF-patients with a history of at least two miscarriages or unsuccessful in vitro fertilization approaches received periconceptual omega-3-fatty acid supplementation for a time period of at least 3 weeks. The "historical" control group, consisting of 1109 patients without omega-3-fatty acid supplementation, was generated out of the Fertility Centre´s patient database. The same inclusion criteria (history of at least two miscarriages or unsuccessful in vitro fertilization approaches) were applied for both groups. Omega-3-fatty acid supplementation lead to significantly enhanced in vitro fertilization success rates as well as to reduction of miscarriage rates compared to patients of the control group. The results encourage to design further age-matched, double-blinded prospective studies in order to verify a positive influence of dietary intervention and lifestyle modification on fertility rates.