Caloric Intake and Ovarian Reserve

The goal of this study is to observe the impact of caloric intake on ovarian reserve as measured by anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) levels and antral follicles (AFC) visualized on ultrasound. It has been shown that obesity negatively impacts these markers, but research is lacking regarding the influence of nutrition and caloric intake on fertility. This would give the investigators information on how diet may impact ovarian reserve in patients seeking fertility treatment.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Infertility, Female
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Survey & Food Diary

Detailed Description

Obesity has been linked to poorer quality oocytes, fewer embryos, and poorer outcomes with pregnancy rates and live birth rates when compared to normal BMI patients. Animal and human studies have shown that short term caloric restriction has lead to improved oocyte quality. Clearly obesity has a negative effect on egg quality. Is this related to the caloric quantity that these patients are consuming when compared with normal BMI patients? If caloric quantity has an impact on egg quality and quantity, then more accurate nutritional guidance could be provided to obese patients who desire to undergo fertility treatments to achieve pregnancy. This could ultimately lead to an improvement in pregnancy rates and live birth rates for these patients.

The goal is to create a survey that would ask patients questions about their caloric intake and activity level. They would also be provided with a food diary to track their caloric intake over a three-day period. They will be instructed to complete the diary during a three day period that would represent their typical diet without any modifications or deviations. The investigators would take the information from this survey to look at average daily caloric intake for a single patient. This data would then be compared with AMH (anti-müllerian hormone) levels and antral follicle counts (AFC) seen on US that would be accessible through the patient's chart. This data would be readily accessible as it is part of all patients' initial workup for infertility assessment and treatment. The investigators would allow for up to a 12 month time period between when these lab and ultrasound findings were performed and when the patient is enrolled in the research study in order to accurately reflect patients' average caloric intake.

Antral follicles are visualized and measured by transvaginal ultrasound and defined as measuring 2-10mm in diameter. This study would define a low AFC ranging from 0-10 antral follicles seen between days two and four of a regular menstrual cycle and would be consistent with poor ovarian reserve. AMH is a hormone level that is expressed by early follicles and reflects the size of the follicle pool. This level represents ovarian function and provides additional information on ovarian reserve. This level can be measured anytime during the menstrual cycle. Normal and abnormal values for the AMH lab value will be determined in this study by the specific laboratory assay that is used by Trihealth, and what that laboratory's reference ranges are since there is not an accepted standardized range.

• Study Type: Observational

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45220
      • Bethesda Fertility Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Women aged 18-45 who are seeking fertility treatment at the Bethesda Fertility Center

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Women aged 18-45 who are seeking fertility treatment at Bethesda Fertility Center will be included.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women who have a diagnosis of PCOS will be excluded from the study due to their abnormal AMH and follicle numbers.
• Women will be excluded if more than 12 months has passed since AMH and AFC levels have been measured.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Women seeking fertility treatment; Women aged 18-45 who are seeking fertility treatment at Bethesda Fertility Center will be provided a survey and food diary to complete.	Other: Survey & Food Diary; Patients will be provided with a 8 question patient survey to complete and return, as well as a food diary that they will complete over a 3 day period to assess their average caloric intake.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Average Daily Caloric Intake	Patients will complete a food diary that they will complete over a 3 day period to assess their average caloric intake.	3 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: TriHealth Inc.
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kasey Reynolds, MD, TriHealth Inc.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 14, 2019
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): May 1, 2020
• Study Completion (Anticipated): May 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 19, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 19, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): July 27, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 9, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 6, 2020
• Last Verified: January 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Obesity; Infertility; Nutrition; Diet; Fertility; Ovarian Reserve; Caloric Intake; Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH); Antral follicles (AFC)
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infertility; Infertility, Female
• Other Study ID Numbers: 17028

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No