Association between estimated glucose disposal rate and female infertility: a cross-sectional study

Insulin resistance (IR) can lead to infertility in women. The primary objective of this research was to examine how estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR) correlates with infertility in women, assessing its validity as an indicator of IR.

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning 2013 to 2018 were analyzed in this study. In order to investigate the correlation between eGDR and the prevalence of female infertility, this study used a combination of weighted multivariate regression analysis, restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis, subgroup analyses, sensitive analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

This study enrolled 2541 women, with an average age of (32.52 ± 0.23) years. The overall infertility rate was 14.27%. A negative relationship was observed between eGDR levels and female infertility. Each increment of one unit in eGDR was linked to a 14% reduction in infertility incidence (OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.80-0.94). RCS analysis revealed a nonlinear, inverse correlation between eGDR and female infertility. Subgroup analyses indicated that age influenced the association between eGDR and female infertility. The ROC curve suggested that eGDR was significantly better than HOMA-IR in predicting infertility [eGDR: 0.632 (95% CI: 0.603, 0.660) vs. HOMA-IR: 0.543 (95% CI: 0.514, 0.572)].

There was an observed association where lower eGDR levels were linked with higher rates of female infertility. These results emphasize the significance of implementing measures to manage IR to protect women's reproductive health.