Association of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Phenotypes With Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes After In-Vitro Fertilization/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the association between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotypes and adverse perinatal outcomes, comparing the characteristics, ovarian response, and assisted reproductive outcomes in patients with various PCOS phenotypes after in-vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Methods: This study comprised 6,732 patients who underwent the first cycle of IVF/ICSI treatment in our outpatient department from January 2017 to July 2018. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used in PCOS and non-PCOS groups to balance the influence of intergroup confounding factors. After the PSM procedure, 1,186 patients were included in the two groups, and the PCOS patients were further divided into four PCOS phenotype groups based on the Rotterdam criteria.

Results: Patients with various PCOS phenotypes had similar rates of biochemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, and live birth (all P-values > 0.05). The overall incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes (including ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, preterm birth) was significantly higher in PCOS phenotype A and D groups than in the control group (44% and 46.4% vs. 28.7%, P = 0.027). The rates of hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP) were significantly higher in PCOS phenotype A and C groups than in the control group (9.3% and 12.5% vs. 3.1%, P = 0.037). After adjustment for potential confounders, the differences in adverse pregnancy outcomes persisted (P = 0.025).

Conclusions: The overall incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes is higher in women with PCOS phenotypes A and D than in women with non-PCOS.

Keywords: adverse pregnancy outcomes; assisted reproductive technology; hypertensive disorder of pregnancy; phenotype; polycystic ovarian syndrome.