Karoline H Skåra, Álvaro Hernáez, Øyvind Næss, Abigail Fraser, Deborah A Lawlor, S. Burgess, Ben Brumpton, Maria C Magnus
{"title":"Cardiovascular disease risk factors and infertility: multivariable analyses and one-sample mendelian randomisation analyses in the trøndelag health study","authors":"Karoline H Skåra, Álvaro Hernáez, Øyvind Næss, Abigail Fraser, Deborah A Lawlor, S. Burgess, Ben Brumpton, Maria C Magnus","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoae033","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Are cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors causally associated with higher risk of infertility among women and men?\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 We found evidence to support a causal relationship between smoking initiation and history of infertility in women.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Several CVD risk factors are associated with history of infertility. Previous studies using Mendelian randomisation (MR) further support a causal relationship between BMI and infertility in women.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 We used data from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) in Norway, a prospective population-based cohort study, including 26,811 women and 15,598 men participating in three survey collections in 1995-1997 (HUNT2), 2006-2008 (HUNT3) and 2017-2019 (HUNT4).\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Our outcome was women’s self-reported history of infertility, defined as ever having tried to conceive for 12 months or more or having used ART. We assigned the history of infertility reported by women to their male partners, therefore the measure of infertility was on the couple level. We used both conventional multivariable analyses and one-sample MR analyses to evaluate the association between female and male CVD risk factors (including BMI, blood pressure, lipid profile measurements, and smoking behaviours) and history of infertility in women and men, separately.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 A total of 4,702 women (18%) and 2,508 men (16%) were classified with history of infertility. We found a higher risk of infertility among female smokers compared to non-smokers in both multivariable and MR analyses (odds ratio [OR] in multivariable analysis, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.12-1.28; OR in MR analysis, 1.13; CI, 1.02-1.26), and potentially for higher BMI (OR in multivariable analysis, 1.13; CI, 1.09-1.18; OR in MR analysis, 1.11, CI, 0.92-1.34). In multivariable analysis in women, we also found evidence of associations between triglyceride levels, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lifetime smoking index, and smoking intensity with higher risk of infertility. However, these results were not consistent in MR analyses. We found no robust or consistent associations between male CVD risk factors and infertility.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Our main limitation was that the CVD risk factors measured might not adequately capture the relevant time periods for when couples were trying to conceive. Additionally, we did not have information on causes of infertility in either women or men.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Women with infertility could have a worse CVD risk factor profile and thus public health interventions aimed at reducing the impact of some CVD risk factors, such as smoking and BMI, could reduce the burden of infertility. However, additional MR studies of the relationship between CVD risk factors and infertility with a larger sample size would be of value.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 The study was supported by a grant from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreements No 947684). This research was also supported by the Research Council of Norway through its Ce","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141101525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Human reproduction openPub Date : 2024-05-22eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1093/hropen/hoae028
Jie Hao, Tianyi Li, Manuel Heinzelmann, Elisabeth Moussaud-Lamodière, Filipa Lebre, Kaarel Krjutškov, Anastasios Damdimopoulos, Catarina Arnelo, Karin Pettersson, Ernesto Alfaro-Moreno, Cecilia Lindskog, Majorie van Duursen, Pauliina Damdimopoulou
{"title":"Effects of chemical <i>in vitro</i> activation versus fragmentation on human ovarian tissue and follicle growth in culture.","authors":"Jie Hao, Tianyi Li, Manuel Heinzelmann, Elisabeth Moussaud-Lamodière, Filipa Lebre, Kaarel Krjutškov, Anastasios Damdimopoulos, Catarina Arnelo, Karin Pettersson, Ernesto Alfaro-Moreno, Cecilia Lindskog, Majorie van Duursen, Pauliina Damdimopoulou","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae028","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hropen/hoae028","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Study question: </strong>What is the effect of the chemical <i>in vitro</i> activation (cIVA) protocol compared with fragmentation only (Frag, also known as mechanical IVA) on gene expression, follicle activation and growth in human ovarian tissue <i>in vitro</i>?</p><p><strong>Summary answer: </strong>Although histological assessment shows that cIVA significantly increases follicle survival and growth compared to Frag, both protocols stimulate extensive and nearly identical transcriptomic changes in cultured tissue compared to freshly collected ovarian tissue, including marked changes in energy metabolism and inflammatory responses.</p><p><strong>What is known already: </strong>Treatments based on cIVA of the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway in ovarian tissue followed by auto-transplantation have been administered to patients with refractory premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and resulted in live births. However, comparable effects with mere tissue fragmentation have been shown, questioning the added value of chemical stimulation that could potentially activate oncogenic responses.</p><p><strong>Study design size duration: </strong>Fifty-nine ovarian cortical biopsies were obtained from consenting women undergoing elective caesarean section (C-section). The samples were fragmented for culture studies. Half of the fragments were exposed to bpV (HOpic)+740Y-P (Frag+cIVA group) during the first 24 h of culture, while the other half were cultured with medium only (Frag group). Subsequently, both groups were cultured with medium only for an additional 6 days. Tissue and media samples were collected for histological, transcriptomic, steroid hormone, and cytokine/chemokine analyses at various time points.</p><p><strong>Participants/materials setting methods: </strong>Effects on follicles were evaluated by counting and scoring serial sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin before and after the 7-day culture. Follicle function was assessed by quantification of steroids by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry at different time points. Cytokines and chemokines were measured by multiplex assay. Transcriptomic effects were measured by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) of the tissue after the initial 24-h culture. Selected differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were validated by quantitative PCR and immunofluorescence in cultured ovarian tissue as well as in KGN cell (human ovarian granulosa-like tumor cell line) culture experiments.</p><p><strong>Main results and the role of chance: </strong>Compared to the Frag group, the Frag+cIVA group exhibited a significantly higher follicle survival rate, increased numbers of secondary follicles, and larger follicle sizes. Additionally, the tissue in the Frag+cIVA group produced less dehydroepiandrosterone compared to Frag. Cytokine measurement showed a strong inflammatory response at the start of the culture in both groups. The RNA-s","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11128059/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141158919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preconception depression reduces fertility: a couple-based prospective preconception cohort","authors":"Tierong Liao, Yaya Gao, Xinliu Yang, Yanlan Tang, Baoling Wang, Qianhui Yang, Xin Gao, Ying Tang, Kunjing He, Jing Shen, Shuangshuang Bao, Guixia Pan, Peng Zhu, Fangbiao Tao, S. Shao","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoae032","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Is preconception depression associated with time to pregnancy (TTP) and infertility?\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Couples with preconception depression needed a longer time to become pregnant and exhibited an increased risk of infertility.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Preconception depression in women contributes to impaired fertility in clinical populations. However, evidence from the general population—especially based on couples—is relatively scant.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 A couple-based prospective preconception cohort study was performed in 16 premarital examination centers between April 2019 and June 2021. The final analysis included 16,521 couples who tried to conceive for ≤6 months at enrollment. Patients with infertility were defined as those with a TTP ≥12 months and those who conceived through ART.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Couples’ depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 at baseline. Reproductive outcomes were obtained via telephone at 6 and 12 months after enrollment. Fertility odds ratios (FORs) and infertility risk ratios (RRs) in different preconception depression groups were analysed using the Cox proportional-hazard models and logistic regression, respectively.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Of the 16,521 couples analyzed, 10,834 (65.6%) and 746 (4.5%) couples achieved pregnancy within the first 6 months and between the 6th and 12th months, respectively. The median (P25, P75) TTP was 3.0 (2.0, 6.0) months. The infertility rate was 13.01%. After adjusting for potential confounders, in the individual-specific analyses, we found that preconception depression in women was significantly related to reduced odds of fertility (FOR = 0.947, 95% CI: 0.908–0.988), and preconception depression in either men or women was associated with an increased risk of infertility (women: RR = 1.212, 95%CI: 1.076–1.366; men: RR = 1.214, 95%CI: 1.068–1.381); in the couple-based analyses, we found that—compared to couples where neither partner had depression—the couples where both partners had depression exhibited reduced fertility (adjusted FOR = 0.904, 95%CI: 0.838–0.975). The risk of infertility in the group where only the woman had depression and both partners had depression increased by 17.8% (RR = 1.178, 95%CI: 1.026–1.353) and 46.9% (RR = 1.469, 95%CI: 1.203–1.793), respectively.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Reporting and recall bias were unavoidable in this large epidemiological study. Some residual confounding factors—such as the use of anti-depressants and other medications, sexual habits, and prior depressive and anxiety symptoms—remain unaddressed. We used a cut-off score of 5 to define depression, which is lower than prior studies. Finally, we assessed depression only at baseline, therefore we could not detect effects of temporal changes in depression on fertility.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 This couple-based study indicated that preconception depression in individuals and couples negatively impacts couples’ fertility. Early detection and intervention of depression to improve fertility should focus on both sexes.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 This work was supported by grants f","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140966657","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence for first trimester dydrogesterone-induced birth defects","authors":"Reshma Quadros, Gaurav Puppalwar, Amey Mane, Suyog Mehta","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoae030","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140989102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexander Katalinic, Maria R Noftz, Juan Garcia-Velasco, Lee P Shulman, John van den Anker, Jerry Strauss
{"title":"Reply: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence for first trimester dydrogesterone-induced birth defects","authors":"Alexander Katalinic, Maria R Noftz, Juan Garcia-Velasco, Lee P Shulman, John van den Anker, Jerry Strauss","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoae031","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140987822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Human reproduction openPub Date : 2024-05-06eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1093/hropen/hoae022
Edgardo Somigliana, Anja Pinborg, Andrew Williams
{"title":"<i>Human Reproduction Open</i>, a wild mustang in the prairie of science.","authors":"Edgardo Somigliana, Anja Pinborg, Andrew Williams","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae022","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hropen/hoae022","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11074005/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140878099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Gkekos, A. Johansson, K. Rodriguez-Wallberg, I. Fredriksson, F. Lundberg
{"title":"Obstetric and perinatal outcomes in women with previous breast cancer: a nationwide study of singleton births 1973–2017","authors":"L. Gkekos, A. Johansson, K. Rodriguez-Wallberg, I. Fredriksson, F. Lundberg","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoae027","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 What are the obstetric and perinatal outcomes in births to breast cancer survivors compared to women without previous breast cancer?\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Women who conceived during the first 2 years following a breast cancer diagnosis had a higher risk for preterm birth, induced delivery and caesarean section, while no increased risks were observed in births conceived later than 2 years after breast cancer diagnosis.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 A recent meta-analysis found higher risks of caesarean section, preterm birth, low birthweight, and small for gestational age in pregnancies among breast cancer survivors. Less is known about rarer outcomes such as pre-eclampsia or congenital malformations.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 We conducted a population-based matched cohort study including all breast cancer survivors who gave birth to singletons 1973–2017 in Sweden, identified through linkage between the Swedish Cancer Register, the Medical Birth Register, and the National Quality Register for Breast Cancer.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Each birth following breast cancer (n = 926) was matched by maternal age at delivery, parity and calendar year at delivery to 100 births in a comparator cohort of women (n = 92,490). Conditional logistic and multinomial regression models estimated relative risks (RR) with 95% CI. Subgroup analyses by time since diagnosis and type of treatment were performed.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Previous breast cancer was associated with higher risks of induced delivery (RR; 1.3, 1.0–1.6), very preterm birth (RR; 1.8, 1.1–3.0) and planned preterm birth (RR; 1.6, 1.0–2.4). Women that conceived within 1 year after breast cancer diagnosis had higher risks of caesarean section (RR; 1.7, 1.0–2.7), very preterm birth (RR; 5.3, 1.9–14.8) and low birthweight (RR; 2.7, 1.4–5.2), while the risks of induced delivery (RR; 1.8, 1.1–2.9), moderately preterm birth (RR; 2.1, 1.2–3.7) and planned preterm birth (RR; 2.5, 1.1–5.7) were higher in women that conceived during the second year after diagnosis. Women that conceived later than 2 years after breast cancer diagnosis had similar obstetric risks to their comparators.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 As information on end date of treatment was unavailable, time between the date of diagnosis and conception was used as a proxy, which does not fully capture the effect of time since end of treatment. In addition, treatments and clinical recommendations have changed over the long study period, which may impact childbearing patterns in breast cancer survivors.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Risks of adverse obstetric outcomes in breast cancer survivors were confined to births conceived within 2 years of diagnosis. As family building holds significance for numerous young breast cancer patients, these findings are particularly important to inform both breast cancer survivors and clinicians about future reproductive outcomes.\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 This work was supported by the Swedish Cancer Society (grant number 22-2044 Pj Anna Johansson), Karolinska Institutet Foundations (grant number: 2022-01696 Frida Lundberg, 2022-01559 Anna Johansson), and the Sw","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141014552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reply: Inaccurate measures of outcomes in the two-sample Mendelian randomization of vitamin D with miscarriage.","authors":"Feng Zhang, Jingtao Huang, Gangting Zhang, Mengyang Dai, Tailang Yin, Chunyu Huang, Jue Liu, Yan Zhang","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae026","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hropen/hoae026","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11101280/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141066668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Human reproduction openPub Date : 2024-04-27eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1093/hropen/hoae025
Qian Yang, Yangbo Sun, Deborah A Lawlor
{"title":"Inaccurate measures of outcomes in the two-sample Mendelian randomization of vitamin D with miscarriage.","authors":"Qian Yang, Yangbo Sun, Deborah A Lawlor","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae025","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hropen/hoae025","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11101279/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141066665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Human reproduction openPub Date : 2024-04-23eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1093/hropen/hoae024
Jian Xu, Di Mao, Chunlin Liu, Ling Sun
{"title":"SARS-CoV-2 infection in IVF-conceived early pregnancy and the risk of miscarriage: a matched retrospective cohort study.","authors":"Jian Xu, Di Mao, Chunlin Liu, Ling Sun","doi":"10.1093/hropen/hoae024","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hropen/hoae024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Study question: </strong>Is SARS-CoV-2 infection in IVF-conceived early pregnancy associated with a higher risk of miscarriage?</p><p><strong>Summary answer: </strong>Infection with SARS-CoV-2 during early pregnancy in women conceiving by IVF may not be associated with an increased rate of miscarriage.</p><p><strong>What is known already: </strong>In naturally conceived pregnancies, most findings have shown that SARS-CoV-2 infection does not increase the risk of miscarriage, while some studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a higher risk of miscarriage.</p><p><strong>Study design size duration: </strong>A matched retrospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary hospital-based reproductive medicine center. The infection group included women who contracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) before 20 weeks gestation from 6 December 2022 to 10 January 2023. Each infected woman was matched with three historical control subjects from 1 January 2018 to 31 May 2022.</p><p><strong>Participants/materials setting methods: </strong>The infection group was matched with historical control subjects based on female age (±1 year), number of gestational sacs, number of previous miscarriages, BMI (±2 kg/cm<sup>2</sup>), main causes of infertility, gestational week, and fresh versus frozen embryo transfer.</p><p><strong>Main results and the role of chance: </strong>A total of 150 pregnant women infected with COVID-19 before 20 weeks of gestation were included in the infection group, which was matched at a 3:1 ratio with 450 historically pregnant controls. There were no significant differences in age, BMI, and endometrial thickness between the two groups. The overall incidence of miscarriage was not significantly different between the infection group and the control group (4.7% versus 5.8%, <i>P</i> = 0.68). When the infection group was stratified into three subgroups based on the gestational age at the onset of infection (0-7 + 6, 8-11 + 6, and 12-19 + 6 weeks), no significant differences were observed in the incidence of miscarriage between the infection group and the matched control group in any of the subgroups (9.8% versus 13.8%, <i>P</i> = 0.60; 5.4% versus 4.5%, <i>P</i> = 1.00; and 1.4% versus 1.9%, <i>P</i> = 1.00, respectively).</p><p><strong>Limitations reasons for caution: </strong>The major limitation of this study is the relatively small sample size; therefore, caution is suggested when drawing any definitive conclusions. Nonetheless, our study is the largest sample study of the influence of COVID-19 infection on the miscarriage rate in early pregnancy after IVF.</p><p><strong>Wider implications of the findings: </strong>Our findings may provide important insights for reproductive physicians and obstetricians during preconception and early pregnancy counseling.</p><p><strong>Study funding/competing interests: </strong>This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 2023A15","PeriodicalId":73264,"journal":{"name":"Human reproduction open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11099652/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141066258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}