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WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Artificial sweeteners may be as bad or even worse than sugar for women trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF), a small study said Monday.
The study, presented at the scientific congress of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in Salt Lake City, found that both sugar and artificial sweeteners, consumed by women via soft drinks and in coffee, have "a detrimental effect" on the outcomes of IVF treatments.
In the study, 524 women undergoing IVF with a procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection were first asked about the foods they consumed, including soft drinks and coffee sweetened with sugar and artificial sweeteners.
Over 5,000 egg cells from these patients were then retrieved and analyzed. Investigators in Sao Palo, Brazil also evaluated the quality of embryos grown with these egg cells on days two, three, and five of development.
They found consumption of soft drinks containing either sugar or artificial sweeteners negatively affected egg and embryo quality and reduce implantation and pregnancy rates.
In addition, patients using either sugar or artificial sweeteners in their coffee have poorer egg quality, but poorer embryo quality and reduced chances implantation and pregnancy rates were only found in patients consuming artificial sweeteners in their coffee.
Unsweetened coffee, however, had no effect on egg quality, implantation or chance of pregnancy.
"The general population believes that artificial sweeteners are healthier than regular sugar, and is not aware of the dangers hidden behind the promise of reduced calorie food and beverages," the authors, led by Gabriela Halpern of the Fertility Medical Group in Brazil, wrote in their conclusion.
"Patients should be advised about the adverse effect of sugar and mainly artificial sweeteners on the success of assisted reproduction."
While some experts said one limitation of the study is it did not mention the effect of obesity, which is already a known negative factor influencing egg quality, Professor Adam Balen, chair of the British Fertility Society, said the findings are "highly significant and relevant to our population."
"This is a very interesting study that suggests that the 'false promise' of artificial sweeteners that are found in soft drinks and added to drinks, such as coffee, may have a significant effect on the quality and fertility potential of a woman's eggs and this may further impact on the chance of conception," Balen said in a statement.
"There should be more scrutiny of food additives and better information available to the public and, in particular, those wishing to conceive."
