Dados do Trabalho

Title

Endometriosis: Unraveling its Effects on Embryo Development and Genetic Factors

Objective

Endometriosis is a chronic disease that affects thousands of women worldwide and is one of the main causes of female infertility. Women with endometriosis tend to have implantation failures poor oocyte quality and decreasing pregnancy. However, the relationship of endometriosis with embryonic development and possible genetic alterations in these embryos is still not well established.

Methods

This retrospective cross-sectional study included 328 patients, splitted into study group (n=181) and controls (n=147). The study group included patients with endometriosis without any other infertility factor associated. The controls were selected according to the following inclusion criteria: the presence of tubal factor, unexplained infertility, or presence of adenomyosis. Data were collected between January 2019 and December 2021. All patients included in the study (n=328) received the same assisted reproduction treatment protocol with embryos transferred after PGT-A. Statistical data analysis was performed with the help of SPSS software (V26). Student's T-test was applied to continuous variables, such as percentage of normal embryos, and the q-square test was used to compare categorical variables, such as embryo implantation rate.

Results

In the comparison between the groups, the variables age of the patients, LH, FSH, AMH, Estradiol, Progesterone, fertilization rate, rate of development to blastocyst, rate of chromosomally normal embryos, and rate of embryo implantation, showed no statistical difference. However, patients with endometriosis showed a lower recovery of MII stage oocytes (0.73±0.32 vs 0.87±0.45, p<0.05).

Conclusion

These results show that patients with endometriosis may have a lower rate of oocyte retrieval during ovarian puncture. Probably because endometriosis causes changes in the follicular microenvironment. However, the decrease in the rate of oocyte retrieval does not seem to have influenced the rate of embryonic development and the rate of chromosomally normal embryos.

Keywords

endometriosis; ploidia; embryo