P–601 Anovulatory patients with PCOS have lower euploidy rates compared to those with hypothalamic amenorrhea and to normo-ovulatory patients
Authors: Ginsburg E , Heidenberg R , Lanes A , Gordon C 
Published: August 2021

Study question

How do euploidy rates differ in anovulatory women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and hypothalamic hypogonadism (HH) compared to normo-ovulatory women undergoing IVF/ICSI?

Summary answer

Patients with PCOS have a significantly lower euploidy rate compared to patients with HH and patients with tubal factor infertility.

What is known already

Previous studies have demonstrated similar blastocyst conversion rates in women with PCOS and tubal factor infertility. Reported aneuploidy rates in preimplantation genetic testing cycles are similar in women with PCOS and tubal infertility. There are no data on blastocyst conversion or aneuploidy rates in women with HH. While PCOS and HH are different physiologic processes, patients with these disorders are reported together to SART and to the CDC National ART Surveillance System under the diagnosis of “ovulatory dysfunction”. Study design, size, duration: Retrospective cohort study of all autologous IVF and ICSI cycles for patients with oligo-anovulation (PCOS, n = 552 and HH, n = 48) and normo-ovulation (tubal factor infertility, n = 423) from 1/1/2012 to 6/30/2019. A total of 1023 cycles from 720 patients were analyzed.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Cycle outcomes, including number of oocytes, mature oocytes, blastocysts and euploid blastocysts were assessed for each diagnosis. Adjusted relative risks (aRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated adjusting for age, BMI, AMH, and stimulation protocol. Poisson regression was used for counts and with an offset for ratios. Patients contributing multiple cycles were accounted for using general estimating equations.

Main results and the role of chance

PCOS patients were given a lower starting dose of gonadotropins and received less total gonadotropins compared to patients with tubal factor infertility or HH, but had similar stimulation durations as tubal-factor patients. Patients with HH received higher total doses of gonadotropins and had longer stimulation durations. PCOS patients had significantly more oocytes retrieved and a higher number of blastocysts than patients with tubal factor infertility (18.9 vs. 13.6 aRR 1.16 95% CI: 1.05–1.28 and 6.6 vs. 3.7 aRR 1.32 95% CI 1.10–1.57, respectively). Patients with HH had a similar number of oocytes retrieved and number of blastocysts compared to tubal factor patients. The blastocyst conversion rate was higher for PCOS than tubal (59.4% vs. 49.7%), but not significantly different (aRR 1.04 95% CI: 0.94–1.15). Blastocyst conversion and euploidy rates were similar for HH and tubal factor patients (51.9% vs. 49.7% and 39.1% vs. 44.9%, respectively, aRR 1.01 95% CI: 0.81–1.26 and aRR 1.05 95% CI: 0.85–1.31, respectively). In the adjusted model, patients with PCOS had a significantly lower euploidy rate than patients with tubal infertility (aRR 0.75 95% CI: 0.58–0.96). Patients with HH also had a significantly higher euploidy rate compared to women with PCOS (aRR 1.41 95% CI: 1.05–1.89).

Limitations, reasons for caution

This study is limited by its retrospective nature and the small sample size of women with hypothalamic hypogonadism. Additionally, these data represent outcomes from a single academic center, so generalizability of our findings may be limited.

Wider implications of the findings: Cycle outcomes differ for ovulatory dysfunction patients with PCOS as compared to those with HH. HH patients require higher total doses of gonadotropins and longer stimulations to achieve similar cycle outcomes as normo-ovulatory patients. While PCOS patients have more embryos, the percent of euploid blastocysts is lower.

Trial registration number

Not applicable