Ovarian stimulation and the risk of aneuploid conceptions

Objective: To examine the rate of aneuploidy in missed abortions in patients who conceived after FSH ovarian stimulation compared with women who conceived in a natural cycle. Design: Retrospective cohort. Setting: Academic reproductive endocrinology and infertility center. Patient(s): Women with karyotyping of products of conception (POC) from a missed abortion from January 1999 through August 2007. The rate of aneuploidy was compared between patients with a history of infertility who conceived naturally and patients with a history of infertility who conceived with FSH treatment. Intervention(s): Ovarian stimulation with FSH, intrauterine insemination, and in vitro fertilitzation; genetic testing of POC after dilation and curettage. Main Outcome Measure(s): Embryonic karyotype. Result(s): A total of 229 pregnancies met inclusion criteria, and of these, 64% had an abnormal karyotype. The rate of aneuploidy was 63% in the study group and 70% in the control group. This difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion(s): The incidence of embryonic aneuploidy was not higher in pregnancies conceived with FSH stimulation compared with spontaneous conceptions in infertility patients. This suggests that exogenous FSH exposure does not increase the risk of aneuploidy. (Fertil Steril (R) 2011; 95: 970-2. (C) 2011 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)