Abstract
Research question
What is the impact of low body mass index (BMI) on live birth rates and obstetric
outcomes in infertile women treated with IVF and fresh embryo transfer?
Design
This was a retrospective cohort study of infertile patients in an academic hospital
setting who underwent their first oocyte retrieval with planned autologous fresh embryo
transfer between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2018. The primary study outcome was
live birth rate. Secondary outcomes were IVF treatment and delivery outcomes. Underweight
patients were stratified into a significantly underweight group (body mass index [BMI]
<17.5 kg/m2) and a mildly underweight group (BMI 17.5–18.49 kg/m2), and were compared with a normal-weight group (BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2).
Results
A total of 5229 patients were included (significantly underweight, 76; mildly underweight,
231; normal weight, 4922), resulting in 4798 embryo transfers. After oocyte retrieval,
there were no significant differences between groups for total oocytes, mature oocyte
yield and number of supernumerary blastocysts cryopreserved. Among women who had an
embryo transfer, there were no significant differences in the live birth rates in
significantly (31.0%, odds ratio [OR] 0.67, confidence interval [0.95, CI] 0.40–1.13)
and mildly (37.7%, OR 0.95, CI 0.73–1.33) underweight patients compared with normal-weight
patients (35.9%). Additionally, there were no statistically significant increased
risks of preterm delivery, Caesarean delivery or a low birthweight (<2500 g) neonate.
Conclusions
Mildly and significantly underweight infertile women have similar pregnancy and live
birth rates to normal-weight patients after IVF treatment. In addition, underweight
patients do not have an increased risk of preterm delivery (<37 weeks), Caesarean
delivery or a low birthweight neonate.
Key words
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Biography
Phillip Romanski graduated medical school from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA, and completed his obstetrics and gynaecology Residency at the Brigham & Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. He is currently a Clinical Fellow in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY.
Key Message
Mildly and significantly underweight infertile women had similar pregnancy and live birth rates to normal-weight women. Additionally, underweight patients did not have an increased risk of preterm delivery, Caesarean delivery or low birthweight neonates. These findings support the suggestion that underweight patients have similar IVF treatment outcomes to normal-weight patients.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 23, 2020
Accepted:
October 21,
2020
Received in revised form:
September 22,
2020
Received:
August 6,
2020
Declaration: The authors report no financial or commercial conflicts of interestIdentification
Copyright
© 2020 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
