Association of body mass index with embryonic aneuploidy

Objective To determine whether an association exists between body mass index (BMI) and embryo ploidy in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) with trophectoderm biopsy and 24-chromosome preimplantation genetic screening (PGS). Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting University-based fertility center. Patient(s) 279 women aged 20-45 years with documented height and weight from the day of oocyte retrieval who underwent 24-chromosome PGS between 2010 and 2013. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Primary outcomes: number and percentage of euploid embryos. Result(s) Patients were grouped by World Health Organization (WHO) BMI class: underweight (<18.5, n = 11), normal weight (18.5-24.9, n = 196), overweight (25-29.9, n = 50), and obese (≥30, n = 22). Groups were similar by age (mean ± standard error of the mean: 37.5 ± 1.2 to 39.2 ± 0.9), ovarian reserve, and IVF cycle parameters. There was no difference in the number or percentage of euploid embryos by BMI category (<18.5: 27.6% ± 8.5; 18.5-24.9: 34.5% ± 2.2; 25-29.9: 32.1% ± 4.3; ≥30: 30.9% ± 7.3). Age was inversely related to euploidy, but adjusted multivariate regression models failed to demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between BMI and euploidy in underweight (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09-2.10), overweight (AOR 0.90; 95% CI, 0.43-2.00), or obese (AOR 0.74; 95% CI, 0.25-2.20) patients compared with the normal-weight reference group. Conclusion(s) No statistically significant relationship was identified between BMI and euploidy in an otherwise homogenous cohort of patients undergoing IVF with PGS, suggesting that the negative impact of overweight and obesity on IVF and reproductive outcomes may not be related to aneuploidy.