Vitamin B2 intake and infertility in US women
What it found
Women who took in more vitamin B2 were less likely to report infertility.
This link was seen across 3,804 women of reproductive age in the US.
What they found
Studies in people
More B2, less infertility
After accounting for other factors, women with the highest vitamin B2 intake (over 2.15 mg) were less likely to report infertility than those with the lowest intake (under 1.22 mg). Overall, higher vitamin B2 intake was linked to a 19% lower rate of infertility.
Consistent across groups
The link between higher vitamin B2 intake and lower infertility rates held true regardless of race, weight, smoking habits, alcohol use, or hormone use. No single group stood out as different from the rest.
Animal and lab studies
How B2 might work
In lab tests, vitamin B2 helps cells handle oxidative stress and lowers inflammation markers in mice. The authors suggest these actions could protect reproductive function, but the exact reason is still unclear.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that taking in more vitamin B2 is linked to a lower chance of infertility in women.
- They suggest that keeping vitamin B2 levels up through diet or supplements might help prevent or treat infertility early on.
How it was done
Many cases of female infertility have no clear cause, and past research on diet and fertility often overlooked vitamin B2. The authors wanted to see if this nutrient plays a role in reproductive health.
They looked at survey data from 3,804 US women aged 20 and older collected between 2013 and 2018. Women reported what they ate over two days and whether they had ever tried to get pregnant for a year without success. The researchers then compared vitamin B2 intake between women who reported infertility and those who did not.
What it can’t tell you
- Because this was a survey taken at one point in time, it cannot show that vitamin B2 prevents infertility. It only shows a link between the two.
- Women reported their own infertility and diet from memory, which may not perfectly match medical records or actual daily eating habits.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China; Health Research Project of Hunan Provincial Health Commission (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics statement: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The NCHS Research Ethics Review Committee reviewed and approved the NHANES study protocol. All participants signed written informed consent.
- Authors work at
- Changsha Hospital for Maternal and Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, P R China; Changsha Medical University, P R China
The paper
- Title
- Association between vitamin B2 intake and female infertility: a cross-sectional study
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Zhao Z, Mao Z, Liu M, et al (2025). Association between vitamin B2 intake and female infertility: a cross-sectional study. Scientific reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-09161-1Free full textPubMed 40610595DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error