The effect of chromosomal polymorphisms on the outcomes of fresh IVF/ICSI–ET cycles in a Chinese population

Purpose Chromosomal polymorphisms (CPs) have been reported to be associated with infertility; however, their effects on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection–embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI–ET) are still controversial. In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of CPs on IVF/ICSI–ET outcomes. Methods To investigate whether CPs affected the outcomes of fresh IVF/ICSI–ET cycles in a Chinese population, we evaluated infertile couples with male carriers of CPs ( n = 348), infertile couples with female carriers ( n = 99), and unaffected couples ( n = 400) who had received their first treatment cycles in our hospital between January 2013 and March 2015. Results CPs in either male or female carriers seemed to have adverse effects on IVF/ICSI–ET outcomes. CPs in male carriers affected outcomes mainly by decreasing the rates of fertilization, embryo cleavage, good quality embryos, clinical pregnancies, ongoing pregnancies, and deliveries as well as increasing the biochemical pregnancy rate ( P < 0.05); CPs in female carriers affected outcomes only by lowering the embryo cleavage rate ( P < 0.05). The mean fertilization rate of couples with male CP carriers undergoing IVF was significantly lower than that in those undergoing ICSI (61.1 versus 66.5 %, respectively; P = 0.0004). Conclusions Our data provide evidence for the involvement of CPs in the poor outcomes of fresh IVF/ICSI–ET cycles in a Chinese population. The use of ICSI might improve outcomes by increasing the fertilization rate for men with CPs.