2025/11/24 by Améline Crouzat, Marion Crémoni, S. Boukaïdi +2 · 1 voice
Medicine · Environmental Science · #Reproductive Biology and Fertility #Sperm and Testicular Function #Air Quality and Health Impacts
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2025.105418
openalex publication_date 2025/11/24 · openalex created_date 2025/11/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Research Question To evaluate the effect of one year's exposure to ambient air pollution on live birth and ovarian response in women undergoing frozen embryo transfer (FET), using the European air quality limit values in 2030 (LV2030). Design This retrospective monocentric study included 255 patients who underwent FET in 2023 and leveraged data from a prospectively collected clinical cohort, combined with prospective air pollution measurements. Primary outcome was live birth, and secondary outcome was the number of oocytes retrieved. Individual exposures to fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5μm (PM 2.5) , smaller than 10μm (PM 10) , nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) , ozone (O 3) , and two multi-pollutant indices (CSA, ICAIR) were estimated via high-resolution spatial modeling. Multivariable logistics and linear regression models were used, adjusting for key confounders. Results Exposure to air pollution during the year preceding embryo transfer was associated with a lower odds of live birth success up to 77% and 66% for pollutant levels exceeded LV2030 respectively for PM 2.5 (OR = 0.23 [0.06–0.79], p = 0.020) and NO 2 (OR = 0.34 [0.12–0.98], p = 0.046) and for continuous concentrations for PM 10 (OR = 0.86 [0.74–0.99], p = 0.044), NO 2 (OR = 0.95 [0.90–0.99], p = 0.028) and CSA (OR = 0.78 [0.62–0.99], p = 0.049). Exposure during the pre-retrieval period showed no significant association with live birth. PM 10 exposure in that period was consistently linked to fewer oocytes retrieved (β = -2.61, p = 0.010 for LV2030; β = -0.44, p = 0.007 for continuous exposure). Conclusion Chronic exposure to air pollutants in the year preceding FET, was independently associated with lower odds of live birth success. These results highlight that compliance with European limit values may contribute to improve reproductive outcomes.