ENDOKRYNOLOGIA POLSKA, vol.73, no.4, pp.699-705, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
Introduction: Thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) is the most common autoimmune disorder. Patients with TAI are usually euthyroid, and the pres-ence of anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) in patients with or without thyroid dysfunction is associated with infertility, recurrent em-bryo implantation failure, and early pregnancy loss. We aimed to investigate the relationship between low ovarian reserve, pregnancy outcomes, and TAI. Material and methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) patients between 2010 and 2018. All patients (n = 1400) for whom thyroid autoantibody testing was requested were detected. A study group was formed from patients with anti-TPO positivity (n = 363). The control group (n = 555) comprised euthyroid anti-TPO negative patients matched to the study group regarding age and body mass index (BMI). Results: Mean serum TSH value was 2.35 +/- 1.70 mIU/mL in anti-TPO-positive patients and 1.81 +/- 1.2 mIU/mL in controls, and the dif-ference was significant (p < 0.05). Total dose of gonadotropins used in ovulation induction in anti-TPO-positive and control patients were 3000 IU and 2700 IU, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The number of metaphase 2 oocytes was significantly lower in the anti-TPO-positive group (p < 0.05). Embryo transfer number and embryo grade were significantly lower in the anti-TPO-positive group (p < 0.01). Poor ovarian response was significantly higher in anti-TPO-positive patients (40%) as compared to anti-TPO-negative controls (30%) (p < 0.01). Clinical pregnancy rate was significantly lower in the anti-TPO-positive group (29.2%), as compared to the antibody-negative group (38.4%) (p < 0.01). Conclusions: There are controversial data regarding the impact of antithyroid antibodies on ovarian reserve and pregnancy outcome after IVF treatment. The results of this study indicate that there was a relationship between TAI and poor ovarian response, and that TAI adversely affects IVF outcomes. Further investigations are required to explore the mechanism behind these effects. (Endokrynol Pol 2022; 73 (4): 699-705)