No evidence that assisted reproduction increases the risk of thrombosis: a Danish national cohort study

Case reports have reported venous and arterial thromboses in women undergoing assisted reproduction. No large systematic studies on the risk of thrombosis have been published. The objective of our study was to investigate whether the risk of thrombosis is increased in women undergoing assisted reproduction.

A national register-based cohort study was conducted on all women undergoing IVF or ICSI treatment in Denmark from 1994 to 2005. Data were obtained from the National Patient Registry and the IVF Registry. Women with prior malignant or cardiovascular disease were excluded. Thrombosis occurring within the first 6 and 12 months after assisted reproduction was considered potentially related to the treatment. Thromboses during pregnancy as well as the pregnancy-related diagnoses were excluded from the statistical analysis. The incidence rates of venous and arterial thromboses were compared with previously published estimates of the risk of thrombosis among young Danish women.

We analyzed 30 884 Danish women undergoing 75 141 treatments from 1994 to 2005. The mean age of the women at first treatment was 32.3 years. The delivery rate per cycle was 22%. The incidence rate ratio, with 95% confidence interval (CI), of venous thrombosis within 6 months was 0.95 (CI: 0.38-1.95). The incidence rate ratio of arterial thrombosis within 6 months was 0.36 (CI: 0.04-1.30).

Our study showed no evidence that assisted reproduction increases the risk of thrombosis.