Can’t conceive? Blame the stress

DON’T panic, but stress might  be causing infertility. One in  seven UK couples have fertility problems and, in a quarter of those, there is no explanation. To explore stress’s possible role, Courtney Lynch at Ohio State University in Columbus and her colleagues looked for an enzyme called alpha-amylase, an indicator of stress, in the saliva of 373 women trying to conceive. After one year, 13 per cent of the women still weren’t pregnant. The third of  the women with the highest alpha-amylase levels were twice  as likely to be infertile as the third with the lowest levels (Human Reproduction, DOI: 10.1093/ humrep/deu032). Exercise might help some couples reduce stress levels and conceive, says Lynch.