Body composition: A predictive factor of cycle fecundity

Area of Science:

• Reproductive endocrinology
• Human reproduction
• Infertility research

Background:

• Unexplained infertility affects a significant number of couples seeking assisted reproductive technologies.
• Body composition, including fat mass and distribution, may influence reproductive outcomes.
• Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) are common first-line treatments for unexplained infertility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between body composition parameters and reproductive success in women with unexplained infertility.
• To determine if specific body composition metrics can predict pregnancy outcomes in women undergoing COH-IUI.

Main Methods:

• A prospective observational study involving 308 women with unexplained infertility undergoing COH-IUI.
• Body composition was assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) before the treatment cycle.
• Women were categorized into pregnant and non-pregnant groups for comparative analysis.

Main Results:

• Pregnant women exhibited significantly lower body fat mass compared to non-pregnant women (15.61±3.65 vs. 18.78±5.97, p=0.01).
• Body fat mass demonstrated a stronger predictive association with fecundity than body fat percentage, BMI, or waist/hip ratio.
• A fat mass cut-off of 16.65 predicted pregnancy with 61.8% sensitivity and 70.2% specificity, increasing pregnancy odds 2.5-fold below this value.

Conclusions:

• Body fat mass is a significant predictor of pregnancy in women with unexplained infertility undergoing COH-IUI.
• Assessing body fat mass may aid in patient counseling and treatment individualization for infertility.
• Further research into the mechanisms linking body fat mass to fecundity is warranted.