Association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013–2018
BackgroundInfertility poses a substantial societal and economic burden; however, current preventive strategies are limited. Recently, the relationship between gut microbiota and infertility has garnered increasing attention. The dietary index for gut microbiota (DI-GM) is a new index that reflects t...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Nutrition |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1583805/full |
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| author | Xiaoyan Zhang Liangzhi Wu Haiyan Li Shuyao Zhang Wenfeng Hua Wenfeng Hua |
| author_facet | Xiaoyan Zhang Liangzhi Wu Haiyan Li Shuyao Zhang Wenfeng Hua Wenfeng Hua |
| author_sort | Xiaoyan Zhang |
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| description | BackgroundInfertility poses a substantial societal and economic burden; however, current preventive strategies are limited. Recently, the relationship between gut microbiota and infertility has garnered increasing attention. The dietary index for gut microbiota (DI-GM) is a new index that reflects the diversity of the gut microbiota. However, its association with female infertility remains unclear.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 3,053 women aged 18–45 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database between 2013 and 2018. Infertility was defined based on responses to a questionnaire on reproductive health. The DI-GM score was calculated by averaging the intake from two 24-h dietary recall interviews. Weighted multivariable logistic regression, restricted cubic splines (RCS), and subgroup analyses were used to investigate the association between DI-GM and female infertility.ResultsBased on self-reported data, 370 participants (12.12%) were classified as infertile. A higher proportion of participants with lower DI-GM scores experienced infertility. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated a negative association between DI-GM and the risk of female infertility, regardless of whether the independent variable was analyzed as a continuous variable or in quartiles in the fully adjusted model (Model 3, continuous variable: OR = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80–0.98, p = 0.025; Q4 vs. Q1: OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.42–0.94, p = 0.032, p for trend = 0.013). The RCS curves demonstrated a non-linear relationship between the DI-GM scores and infertility risk. Subsequent subgroup analyses corroborated the robustness of these findings.ConclusionThese findings suggest a non-linear relationship between DI-GM and the risk of infertility in females, with lower DI-GM scores associated with a higher risk of infertility. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj-art-e593580e753a427c8b54076b2113f1492025-08-20T03:53:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Nutrition2296-861X2025-04-011210.3389/fnut.2025.15838051583805Association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013–2018Xiaoyan Zhang0Liangzhi Wu1Haiyan Li2Shuyao Zhang3Wenfeng Hua4Wenfeng Hua5Department of Pharmacy, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital (Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University), Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Gynecology, The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Reproductive Medicine Center, The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital (Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University), Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Gynecology, The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaResearch Institute for Maternal and Child Health, The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaBackgroundInfertility poses a substantial societal and economic burden; however, current preventive strategies are limited. Recently, the relationship between gut microbiota and infertility has garnered increasing attention. The dietary index for gut microbiota (DI-GM) is a new index that reflects the diversity of the gut microbiota. However, its association with female infertility remains unclear.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 3,053 women aged 18–45 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database between 2013 and 2018. Infertility was defined based on responses to a questionnaire on reproductive health. The DI-GM score was calculated by averaging the intake from two 24-h dietary recall interviews. Weighted multivariable logistic regression, restricted cubic splines (RCS), and subgroup analyses were used to investigate the association between DI-GM and female infertility.ResultsBased on self-reported data, 370 participants (12.12%) were classified as infertile. A higher proportion of participants with lower DI-GM scores experienced infertility. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated a negative association between DI-GM and the risk of female infertility, regardless of whether the independent variable was analyzed as a continuous variable or in quartiles in the fully adjusted model (Model 3, continuous variable: OR = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80–0.98, p = 0.025; Q4 vs. Q1: OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.42–0.94, p = 0.032, p for trend = 0.013). The RCS curves demonstrated a non-linear relationship between the DI-GM scores and infertility risk. Subsequent subgroup analyses corroborated the robustness of these findings.ConclusionThese findings suggest a non-linear relationship between DI-GM and the risk of infertility in females, with lower DI-GM scores associated with a higher risk of infertility.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1583805/fullDI-GMdysbiosisgut microbiotafemale infertilityNHANES |
| spellingShingle | Xiaoyan Zhang Liangzhi Wu Haiyan Li Shuyao Zhang Wenfeng Hua Wenfeng Hua Association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013–2018 Frontiers in Nutrition DI-GM dysbiosis gut microbiota female infertility NHANES |
| title | Association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013–2018 |
| title_full | Association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013–2018 |
| title_fullStr | Association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013–2018 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013–2018 |
| title_short | Association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013–2018 |
| title_sort | association between the dietary index for gut microbiota and female infertility a cross sectional study of nhanes 2013 2018 |
| topic | DI-GM dysbiosis gut microbiota female infertility NHANES |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1583805/full |
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