Endometrium infection by human herpesvirus-6A: implication in female idiopathic infertility

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A possible association between allergy and infertility has not been investigated. Our aim was to determine whether female allergy correlates with infertility treatment outcomes. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study in an academic medical center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patient data from July 2010 through January 2017 was compiled from medical records. Mixed effects models were used to evaluate the relationship between presence of female allergy and type (fresh or FET) and cycle outcomes, controlling for type of procedure, number of embryos transferred, female patient age, BMI, smoking status, gravidity, parity, and Caucasian race. RESULTS: After exclusions for missing data, the cohort contained 493 patients with a total of 935 cycles. Of these, 90.7% identified as Caucasian with a mean age of 34.8 (SD¼4.6) at the time of each cycle initiation. Over half of the female patients had allergy (54.0%). Nonexclusively, among all female patients, allergy to antibiotics was most common (29.2%), followed by allergy to non-antibiotic prescription medications (22.3%). Allergies to pollen and dust (5.7%), foods (6.5%), latex (4.4%) and other substances (9.7%) including cat and dog allergens were less common. Among cycles with fresh embryo transfer (581 cycles from 408 patients), having an allergy to pollen and/or dust was significantly associated with having a negative beta-hCG test (p¼0.02). Pollen/dust allergy was not associated with SAB, biochemical pregnancy, or ectopic pregnancy alone; however, it was associated with whether an infant was born at the end of the cycle (p¼0.04), with only 15.4% of those with a pollen/dust allergy having a cycle which resulted in a live-born infant compared with 34.7% of those without such allergy. Overall, the presence of any allergy was not associated with negative beta-hCG or pregnancy outcomes, nor was other sub-classes of allergies. CONCLUSIONS: The high rates of allergy among patients seeking infertility treatment, as compared to the general population, are surprising. Female allergy to pollen and/or dust is associated with a greater chance of failed fertility treatment and a lower chance of a successful pregnancy resulting in a live-born infant. The reproductive performance of allergic patients needs further investigation using a larger dataset.