Association between hyperandrogenism and adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients with different polycystic ovary syndrome phenotypes undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To study the association between hyperandrogenism (HA) and adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients with different polycystic ovary syndrome phenotypes undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods We reviewed all eligible articles published up to October 2020 after searching in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang Data, and CNKI databases. The primary outcomes were the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), miscarriage rate (MR), and live birth rate (LBR), whereas the secondary outcomes were the number of retrieved oocytes and endometrial thickness. Risk ratios (RRs) or mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the HA impact on IVF/ICSI outcomes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotypes. Results Of the 789 trials identified, nine retrospective studies involving 3037 patients with PCOS were included. Compared to the PCOS group with normal androgen levels, the PCOS group with HA exhibited increased MR (RR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.16); the CPR (RR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.77, 1.01) and LBR (RR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.55, 1.11) were not significantly different between these groups. Subgroup analysis revealed that the CPR was lower in the polycystic ovarian (PCO)-morphology + HA + oligo-anovulation (AO) group than in the PCO + AO group (RR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.99). Among Asians, the PCOS/HA group had increased MR (RR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.31) and showed thinner endometrial thickness. However, among Caucasians, no differences were observed between the two groups. Conclusions HA may have adverse effects on clinical pregnancy and miscarriage outcomes in different PCOS phenotypes, particularly among Asians.

Automated summary

The association between hyperandrogenism and adverse pregnancy outcomes was studied in patients with different polycystic ovary syndrome phenotypes undergoing IVF/ICSI. The results indicated that hyperandrogenism may have negative effects on clinical pregnancy and miscarriage outcomes, particularly among Asian populations.