Differences in time to natural conception between women with unexplained infertility and infertile women with minor endometriosis

Adebowale Akande, Valentine A Akande, Hunt LP, Linda P Hunt, David J Cahill, Cahill DJ, J.M. Jenkins, Julian M Jenkins
Human Reproduction · 2003 · vol. 19(1) , pp. 96–103 · doi:10.1093/humrep/deh045 · PMID:14688164 · W2169001421
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 92 in-corpus citations
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This retrospective study found that women with minimal/mild endometriosis had a lower probability of natural conception compared to women with unexplained infertility over 3 years of follow-up.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Opinion remains divided as to whether finding endometriotic lesions in the absence of adhesions has an adverse effect on the likelihood of conception. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 192 fully investigated infertile couples, followed up for up to 3 years following laparoscopy. Women studied were ovulating, <40 old years and their partners had normal sperm parameters. All 117 women with unexplained infertility and 75 with minimal/mild endometriosis without adhesive disease were managed conservatively. RESULTS: Women with endometriosis were found to have a lower probability of pregnancy compared with women with unexplained infertility (36% versus 55%; P3 years) of infertility. However, the effects of duration of infertility and primary infertility were not observed to be statistically significant for women with endometriosis. CONCLUSIONS: The findings, although undertaken in a select population undergoing laparoscopy, suggest the likelihood of pregnancy is reduced in infertile women with minimal/mild endometriosis compared with those infertile women with a normal pelvis. Duration of infertility and a previous history of pregnancy are important in predicting the likelihood of pregnancy in women with no obvious cause for their infertility (unexplained), whilst the relationship may be more complex in women with minor endometriosis

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Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Fertilization Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Adult Chronic Disease Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Laparoscopy Likelihood Functions Maternal Age Parity Pregnancy Prognosis Proportional Hazards Models Retrospective Studies

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