Diminished ovarian reserve may have no effect on embryo euploidy: A retrospective cohort study

Objective: Does an association exist between diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and embryonic aneuploidy risk in young women of reproductive age?

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 854 participants treated in the Department of Reproductive Medicine, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medicine University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, from May 2016 to September 2023 for a total of 894 cycles. The relationship between ovarian reserve and embryonic euploidy was evaluated using statistical methods such as generalized estimating equation (GEE) and propensity score matching (PSM).

Results: Despite the higher number of biopsied blastocysts in women with normal ovarian reserve, no significant difference in embryonic aneuploidy rates was observed between DOR women and the control group. In addition, there were no significant disparities observed in the rates of metaphase II (MII) oocytes, normal fertilization, transferable embryos, blastocyst formation, and high-scoring blastocysts between the DOR and control groups after PSM.

Conclusion: This study showed that DOR had no significant effect on the incidence of aneuploidy in embryos. Young women informed about DOR should be relatively confident about the quality of their eggs and the euploidy status of their embryos before conventional assisted reproduction, thereby mitigating concern regarding adverse maternal outcomes due to aneuploidy.