Influence of male hyperinsulinaemia on IVF outcome

The IVF outcome of a group of hyperinsulinaemic men (group B) was compared with a group of IVF males with normal insulin levels (group A). The participating females in the study groups were younger than 38 years old, had blocked Fallopian tubes and/or endometriosis, had normal insulin levels and produced five or more ova on stimulation. The male participants in both groups were normozoospermic with motility above 50% and sperm morphology between 5 and 13% normal forms (G-pattern according to Tygerberg strict criteria). The two groups did not differ statistically in terms of age or semen parameters (P = 0.39; P < 0.05).The group of men that presented with normal insulin levels had a higher fertilisation rate (79.15% versus 74.57%) and superior embryo quality on day 3 (55.77% versus 50.39%) than the group that presented with hyperinsulinaemia, but these differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.28, P = 0.40; P < 0.05). The clinical pregnancy rate of the group with normal insulin was significantly higher than that of the hyperinsulinaemic group, 57.9% versus 31.8% respectively (P = 0.03). The results suggest that hyperinsulinaemia had a negative impact on IVF outcome and patients should be advised accordingly.