SFEBES2025 Poster Presentations Reproductive Endocrinology (22 abstracts)
Ethnic disparities in clinical outcomes among women undergoing IVF treatment
Elhem Loukily 1 , Simon Hanassab 1,2,3 , Scott Nelson 4,5 , Ziyad Ansari 6 , Artur Akbarov 2,3 , Tom Kelsey 7 , Artsiom Hramyka 7 , Arthur Yeung 1 , Sotirios Saravelos 8 , Rehan Salim 8 , Alexander Comninos 1,9 , Geoffrey Trew 5 , Thomas Heinis 2,3 , Waljit Dhillo 1,9 & Ali Abbara 1,9
1Department of Metabolism, Digestion, and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; 2Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; 3UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Healthcare, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; 4School of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; 5Institute of Reproductive Science, The Fertility Partnership, Oxford, United Kingdom; 6Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; 7School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom; 8Department of Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom; 9Department of Endocrinology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom
Background: Significant disparities exist in maternal health and fertility care among ethnic groups, influenced by both biological factors and the intersectionality of systemic injustices and socioeconomic factors. Notably, Black women experience higher rates of infertility but are underrepresented among those undergoing IVF treatment.
Aim: To investigate differences in pre-treatment prognostic factors and IVF treatment responses among women of White, Asian, Black, Mixed, and Other ethnic backgrounds.
Method: In this retrospective, multicenter cohort study, data from 11,120 women who underwent IVF between 2007 and 2023 across ten centres in the UK and Poland were analysed. Primary outcomes included live birth rate (LBR) after fresh embryo transfer, with multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age, BMI, and primary cause of infertility. Ethical approval: 23/HRA/2849.
Results: The distribution of ethnic groups was as follows: White (72.3%, n = 8,258), Asian (17.9%, n = 1,995), and Black (2.6%, n = 284). Asian women (34.1 years) were younger at treatment initiation (P < 0.0001) compared to White (34.7 years) and Black women (35.1 years). Black women had a higher BMI than White women (26.8 vs. 25.0 kg/m2; P < 0.001). Although Black (15.3) and Asian (16.1) women had a lower antral follicle count before treatment compared to White women (17.6), there was no significant difference in the number of mature oocytes retrieved. Black women were almost 50% less likely than White women to achieve a live birth (OR 0.54, 95% CI [0.36 to 0.78]) even after adjusting for age, BMI, and primary infertility cause. Biochemical and clinical pregnancy rates were similarly lower for Black women, however miscarriage rates did not significantly differ.
Conclusion: The less favourable pre-treatment prognostic factors observed in Black women did not fully explain the differences in LBR. The impact of ethnicity on IVF outcomes is multifaceted, and further research is essential to understand the causes of these disparities in clinical outcomes.
Volume 109
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Endocrine Abstracts
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