Does ethnicity influence in vitro fertilization (IVF) birth outcomes?

Racial and ethnic differences in reproductive potential across the life cycle

“…Of the four studies that found no association between race and ART outcomes the sample sizes ranged from 251 to 1,135 subjects, and none were as large as the Feinberg study, which showed no association (42)(43)(44)(45). One of these studies, by Dayal et al (42), has several strengths: race was self-identified using very strict criteria, and socioeconomic status was addressed by recruiting subjects from Washington DC, which has a disproportionately high middle-class black population compared with other regions of the country.…”

“…Some have identified racial/ ethnic differences (36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41), whereas others have not (42)(43)(44)(45). Most of the existing literature has focused on comparisons between white and black women (36-38, 42, 43) with less data examining ART outcomes in Hispanics (40,44) and Asians (39)(40)(41).…”

“…Furthermore, the live birth rate in the white subjects was somewhat lower than the SART national average for the period of time that this study was conducted (24% in the study population vs. 32% in SART data), whereas the live birth rate for blacks was comparable to SART data for live births (25% in study population vs. 22% in SART data) (49). This birth rate in whites combined with sample size considerations could limit the ability to detect a difference if one existed (42,49).…”

Asian women are less likely to express interest in infertility research

“…Lamb et al (17) demonstrated lower pregnancy rates in Asian women undergoing intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment. Although the findings in Black women have been disputed by others (18,19), the accumulating evidence obtained from large data sources in the US strongly favors the existence of these disparities (11,13,14). These studies clearly demonstrate the need for ethnicityspecific research to understand the origins of reproductive outcome disparities in various minority racial and ethnic groups.…”

In vitro fertilization outcomes in Hispanics versus non-Hispanic whites

“…Seifer et al (4,5) analyzed Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) data from 1999-2000 and 2004-2006 consistently showing decreased PRs in African-American women than their white counterparts. Dayal et al (6) reported lower embryo yield but no difference in pregnancy outcomes in African American when compared to white women. However, when controlling for socioeconomic factors, Feinberg et al (7) found no difference in live birth rates between African-American women and white women.…”