ArticleFrontiers in public health2025
Consumption of ultra-processed foods and female infertility: a cross-sectional study.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Ultra-processed food consumption and risk of infertility in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Gut Dysbiosis in Selected Gynecological Diseases Associated with Female Infertility: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- The impact of junk food on male fertility in mice: therapeutic interventions targeting advanced glycation end-products and oxidative stress.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food exposure and health outcomes: Current evidence, controversies, and future perspectives.EXCLI journal · 2026Review
- Is obesity the missing link? Ultra-processed foods and metabolic and reproductive outcomes: a narrative review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: A high dietary consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) has been associated with abnormal semen analysis parameters in males; however, it is unclear whether there is an impact on female reproduction. The objective of this study is to assess whether high consumption of UPF is associated with female infertility. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of females aged 18-45 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2013 to 2018 was performed. Females were eligible for inclusion if they provided a 24-h dietary recall and responded to a question regarding infertility. Foods reported during a 24-h dietary recall were classified according to the Nova system. The relative percentage of total energy consumed from UPF and unprocessed/minimally processed foods within a 24-h period was calculated. Results: The prevalence of infertility was 11%. The overall mean percentage of daily UPF and unprocessed/minimally processed food intake among respondents was 57 and 29%, respectively. There was no difference in the odds of female infertility when comparing females in the lowest tertile of UPF consumption to peers in the middle [aOR = 1.37, 95% CI (0.96, 1.95)] or highest tertile of consumption [aOR = 1.26, 95% CI (0.91, 1.74)]. Similarly, there was no difference in the odds of infertility between participants in the middle [aOR = 1.39, 95% CI (0.83, 2.33)] or highest tertile [aOR = 0.73, 95% CI (0.34, 1.54)] of unprocessed/minimally processed food consumption relative to those in the lowest tertile. In an intermediate model removing body mass index (BMI) as a covariate, an increased odds of infertility was noted among females with the highest tertile of UPF consumption relative to those in the lowest tertile [aOR = 1.46, 95% CI (1.01, 2.09)]. Conclusion: Among women of reproductive age, high consumption of UPF is associated with female infertility. BMI is a mediator of the association between UPF and female infertility.
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