Predictors of pregnancy after intrauterine insemination in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective To evaluate the effects of body mass index (BMI) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with intrauterine insemination (IUI). Methods This retrospective study evaluated couples with PCOS undergoing COS and IUI. The relationship between cumulative IUI pregnancy outcomes and BMI, treatment cycles, treatment schemes, number of dominant follicles, endometrial thickness, infertility duration and type of infertility was analysed. Results The study evaluated 831 IUI cycles in 451 couples with PCOS. Compared with normoweight women, overweight and obese women required more human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) doses and more days of COS. Gestational diabetes mellitus occurred more frequently in the obese group than in the other BMI groups. The clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in the hMG, clomiphene citrate (CC) + hMG and letrozole (LE) + hMG groups were significantly higher than those in the CC and LE groups. The clinical pregnancy rate was higher in the secondary infertility group compared with the primary infertility group. Conclusion Obese women might require more hMG doses and more days of COS to overcome the effects of weight. As BMI increases, the incidence of gestational diabetes might also increase. The number of cycles and type of infertility may have a predictive value for pregnancy outcomes.