Etiologic characterization of recurrent miscarriages in Koreans

To investigate recurrent miscarriages in Koreans in terms of causative factors and the prognosis for subsequent successful pregnancies in primary and secondary recurrent miscarriages cases.

The study retrospectively examined the clinical records of 222 recurrent miscarriage cases that were presented at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, from July 1989 to June 2008. The cases were classified according to the cause and pregnancy rates after the primary and secondary abortions were compared using the chi2 test.

The etiologic analysis indicated that anatomic abnormality (29.4%) was the most common cause of recurrent miscarriage in Koreans, followed by immunologic (26.7%), inexplicable (24.1%), endocrinologic (15.0%) and genetic (11.2%) causes. The subsequent successful pregnancy rate was higher in the secondary recurrent miscarriage group than the primary recurrent miscarriage group (47.9% vs. 31.7%, p < 0.05).

The causative factors of recurrent miscarriages in Koreans differed from those reported in Western studies on the frequency of causes. The prognosis for subsequent successful pregnancies was better in the secondary recurrent miscarriage group, as we expected.