Success evaluation of Assisted Reproductive Technology in couples with chromosomal abnormalities

Abstract

Purpose: Infertility is estimated to affect 15% of couples, and chromosome abnormalities play an important role in its etiology. The main objective of this work is to access the reproductive success of ART in infertile couples with chromosomal abnormalities comparing to a control group with normal karyotype. Methods: A retrospective analysis of seven years of all karyotypes performed in couples with infertility was done. Data regarding type of infertility, couples' ages, ART performed and their reproductive success were obtained from medical records. Adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) were used to estimate magnitude of association between the success and the different exposures/groups. Results: We found a prevalence of 7.83% (234/2989) of chromosome abnormalities in our population. Chromosomal anomalies were found in 83 men (35.02%) and 154 women (64.98%), with low-grade mosaicism being the most prevalent (50.63%), followed by autosomal translocations (17.30%) and sex chromosomes abnormalities (13.92%). There was a non-significant lower success rate in the cases, OR=0.899, p=0.530), with IVF treatment providing the higher success rate. Secondary infertility was significant for lower probability of success (OR=0.643, p<0.001). In general female carriers of chromosome anomalies had a higher success rate, although not significant. Conclusion: Although the differences regarding success rate between groups were not found statistically significant, we still advocate that cytogenetic analysis should be performed routinely in all infertile couples namely before ART. This might help deciding the best treatment options including Preimplantation Genetic Test for aneuploidies or structural rearrangements and minimize the risk of transmission of anomalies to the offspring.