Women with PCOS or anovulation demonstrate higher live birth rates than women with tubal infertility

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome appear to have more success across the reproductive lifespan than women with tubal infertility, new data suggest.

“Women with PCOS have an increased number of antral follicles in the ovary and higher anti-Mullerian hormone levels,” researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia wrote.

To determine if this plays a role in reproduction, the researchers collected information on 44,286 women who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) and were listed in the 2004 to 2006 Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies database. They then compared outcomes of women with PCOS with those of women with tubal infertility after completion of IVF.

Results revealed that women of all ages with PCOS had a considerably higher live birth rate than women with tubal infertility. An adjusted model also indicated that the RR for live birth in women with PCOS vs. those with tubal infertility after IVF was 1.12 at age 35 years, 1.22 at age 40 years and 1.34 at age 45 years (P<.001), the researchers said.

“Women with PCOS or anovulation demonstrate higher live birth rates than women with tubal infertility across the reproductive lifespan,” the researchers wrote. “This novel finding becomes more robust in later reproductive life and suggests a lengthening of the fertility window.”