Vitamin B6 Intake May Influence Ability to Conceive

Vitamin B6 deficiency associated with decreased conception and increased early pregnancy loss

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have a vitamin B6 deficiency are less likely to conceive and more likely to have early pregnancy loss than women with adequate intake, according to a study of Chinese women published in the August issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Alayne G. Ronnenberg, Sc.D., of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and colleagues prospectively studied 364 Chinese women between 1996 and 1998. The subjects provided daily urine samples for up to one year, and human chorionic gonadotropin was assayed to detect conception. Homocysteine, folate, and vitamins B6 and B12 were measured in preconception plasma.

Women with the highest plasma levels of vitamin B6 were more than twice as likely to conceive (hazard ratio, 2.2) as those with the lowest level. Compared to women with a vitamin B6 deficiency, women with adequate intake were less likely to experience early pregnancy loss (odds ratio, 0.7).

"This study underscores the potential importance of micronutrient status at the time of conception on pregnancy outcome," the authors conclude.

Abstract
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