Women with elevated stress levels might be less likely to get pregnant, according to a study published recently in the journal Fertility and Sterility, USA Today reports.

For the study, the researchers followed 274 British women ages 18 to 40 years old who were already participating in the Oxford Conception Study, which assessed whether information from infertility-monitoring devices increased the likelihood of conception. The women were tracked for six menstrual cycles or until they conceived, depending on which came first. Saliva samples were collected on the sixth day of each cycle and analyzed for alpha amylase and cortisol, two substances that measure the body's reaction to physical or mental stress.

The researchers accounted for several outside factors than can influence conception, including alcohol intake, frequency of intercourse and the couples' ages. They determined that the couples had an average 30% chance of conceiving each cycle.

However, women with the highest concentrations of alpha amylase in the first cycle were 12% less likely to conceive than women with the lowest levels, the study found. Cortisol levels were not linked to a woman's chance of conceiving, according to lead author Germaine Buck Louis of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Buck Louis noted that alpha amylase mimics the "fight-or-flight" response to immediate stressors, such as noise or temperature. The research team is conducting a larger and longer study to confirm the findings (Rubin, USA Today, 8/11).

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