Fertility: anti-inflammatory drugs disrupt ovulation

According to the results of a study presented at the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) which was recently held in Rome, the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in women wishing to have a child is not recommended. Indeed, these drugs could disrupt ovulation, and this, after only ten days of treatment.
It is therefore fertility which is directly affected here by the consumption of these analgesics. The study advises women wishing to conceive to use them with caution.

NSAIDs prevent the production of progesterone

Prof. Sami Salman’s team, from the Department of Rheumatology at the University of Baghdad (Iraq), studied 39 women with chronic back pain and of childbearing age. The patients were divided into several groups, and treated with different types of anti-inflammatory drugs. The women in the first group received Diclofenac (100 mg once daily), the second group received Naproxen (500 mg twice daily) and the third group Etoricoxib (90 mg once daily). Treatments began ten days after the end of menstrual cycles.

“After only ten days of treatment, we were able to observe in all the groups a significant drop in progesterone, a hormone essential for ovulation,” explains Prof. Salman. In women who received diclofenac, only 6.3% ovulated. They were only 25% in the Naproxen group and 27.3% for the Etoricoxib group. In addition, the ovarian follicles, responsible for producing progesterone, were much less active after the absorption of NSAIDs, and their role is essential in the ovulation process.

30 million consumers every day

“This study shows that, even in the short term, the consumption of these very popular drugs have a very significant impact on the chances of pregnancy”, continues Professor Salman. Popular, the word is weak. NSAIDs are, with nearly 30 million daily users, the most widely consumed drugs across the planet. Some of them are also available without any medical prescription.