Results:Variations in cycle variables with BMI and age showed that IVF cycles were negatively affected by increases in obesity and age. Clinical pregnancy rates were found to be lower in the obese group than in the other groups, particularly in the age group above 35 years; however, this difference could not be proven statistically.
Conclusion:The present study evaluated obesity and clinical pregnancy rates in IVF cycles in PCOS patients according to age groups, and particularly in the obese group, the clinical pregnancy rates were observed to be lower in the age group ≥35 years than in the other BMI groups; however, this difference was found to be statistically insignificant. (J Turk Ger Gynecol Assoc 2016; 17: 83-90) Keywords: PCOS, body mass index, age, IVF outcome Received: 31 December, 2015 Accepted: 8 March, 2016 Effect of body mass index and age on in vitro fertilization in polycystic ovary syndrome Bailey et al. (12) investigated the effect of BMI on the characteristics and outcomes of IVF cycles in PCOS and found lower clinical pregnancy rates in an obese PCOS group than in a lean group and a lower rate of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in the obese group. A woman's age is also an important factor in IVF success (13,14). The IVF success rate reduces with increasing age in PCOS, as in all infertile patient groups (15, 16). The literature contains a very limited number of studies that investigate age and BMI together. Heijnen et al. (17) reported that although BMI has a significant and negative effect on female fertility, this effect gradually decreases as women approach their mid-thirties and also in younger women receiving IVF. Above the age of 36 years, on the other hand, the effect of BMI on fertility becomes minimal. PCOS patients were not included in this study. The study by Metwally et al. (8) that investigated 426 IVF/ICSI cycles did not exclude PCOS patients and reported that although obesity does not affect oocyte quality, there is a reduction in embryo quality in patients under the age of 35 years. The hypothesis of the present study assumed that the effect of BMI on the IVF cycles of PCOS patients may vary with age. The present study aimed to investigate age-related variations in the effect of BMI on IVF outcomes.
Material and MethodsThis was a cohort study conducted by retrospectively investigating the IVF cycles of 653 PCOS patients under the age of 40 years, who were diagnosed based on the Rotterdam criteria in Gürgan IVF clinic between 2005 and 2015. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee, and all patients included in the study provided informed consent. The patients were diagnosed with PCOS in accordance with the diagnostic criteria of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology/American Society for Reproductive Medicine Rotterdam Consensus Meeting 2003 (18). Based on this set of criteria, two of the following three criteria are necessary for confirming a diagnosis: -Anovulation or Oligoovulation -Biochemical or Clinical Hyperandr...