Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the pregnancy outcomes of women undergoing assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs): a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The global outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) led to the suspension of most treatments with assisted reproductive technique (ART). However, with the recent successful control of the pandemic in China, there is an urgent public need to resume full reproductive care. To determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic had any adverse effects on female fertility and the pregnancy outcomes of women undergoing ART, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted using the electronic Chinese and English databases. Dichotomous outcomes were summarized as prevalence, and odds ratios (ORs) and continuous outcomes as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). The risk of bias and subgroup analyses were assessed using Stata/SE 15.1 and R 4.1.2. The results showed that compared with women treated by ART in the pre-COVID-19 time frame, women undergoing ART after the COVID-19 pandemic exhibited no significant difference in the clinical pregnancy rate (OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.19; I 2 =0.0%), miscarriage rate (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.14; I 2 =38.4%), embryo cryopreservation rate (OR 2.90, 95% CI 0.17 to 48.13; I 2 =85.4%), and oocyte cryopreservation rate (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.03 to 3.65; I 2 =81.6%). This review provided additional evidence for gynecologists to guide the management of women undergoing ART treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic timeframe. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at 10.1631/jzus.B2200154.

Outcomes of female reproductive performance with assisted reproductive techniques after recent mild to moderate COVID-19 infections: An observational study

“…In comparing the pregnancy outcomes of women who underwent ART before and after the COVID-19 pandemic had begun, a systematic review and meta-analysis of papers published in Chinese and English found no significant difference in the rates of clinical pregnancy and miscarriage. The review did not assess other ART outcomes such as oocyte yield, embryo quantity, or embryo quality [14]. Like the present study, the study of Hossein Rashidi et al [15] was performed in the Iranian population, but individuals with COVID-19 were excluded from the study, and individuals without symptoms were not tested for COVID-19 infection.…”

Ten years of in vitro fertilization in Indonesia: Access to infertility care in a developing country

“…This finding is consistent with the findings of the Rashidi nancy rate. 21,22 It is encouraging that in 2020, 85.9% of IV pregnancies were singleton, 12.9% were twins, and 1.2% were triplets. Unfortunately, currently there is no national registry of ART births in Indonesia.…”

COVID-19 Vaccines and Assisted Reproductive Techniques: A Systematic Review

“…A third article evaluates ART cycle results before and after the COVID pandemic by analyzing seven previous studies of 33,883 ART cycles [ 65 ]. The findings of this review describe that no statistical differences were found before and after the COVID-19 pandemic for all of the studied outcomes (both clinical and laboratory).…”