Study finds waist circumference predicts infertility in child-bearing-aged women

Waist circumference (WC) is a positive predictor of female infertility, independent of body mass index (BMI), according to a study published online Dec. 20 in PLOS ONE.

Jierong Ke, from Huizhou Central People's Hospital in China, and colleagues examined the relationship between WC and infertility among women of child-bearing age. The analysis included 3,239 female participants (aged 18 to 45 years) participating in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The researchers found that WC was positively associated with female infertility independent of BMI in an adjusted analysis. For every 1cm increase in waist circumference, the risk for infertility increased by 3 percent. Women in the highest quintile of WC had more than a doubled risk for infertility versus the lowest quintile (odds ratio, 2.64).

There was a nonlinear but positively dose-dependent relationship between WC and female infertility. In participants who had moderate recreational activities, there was an inverted U-shaped relationship (turning point: 113.5cm) between WC and female infertility. In participants who had deficient recreational activities, there was a J-shaped relationship (turning point: 103cm) between WC and female infertility.

"Moderate recreational activities can lower the risk of female infertility associated with abdominal obesity," the authors write.