Does ethnicity influence in vitro fertilization (IVF) birth outcomes?

Objective: To determine if ethnicity influences IVF birth outcome. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: University-based IVF program. Patient(s): All African American women (n = 71) and Caucasian women (n = 180) who underwent initial fresh, nondonor IVF/embryo transfer (ET) cycles between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2005. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Gonadotropin dose, duration of stimulation, peak estradiol levels, oocyte yield, implantation, clinical pregnancy, and live birth rates. Result(s): African American women generated significantly fewer embryos than Caucasian women (5.3 ± 3.7 vs. 6.6 ± 4.8) despite having similar ages, day 3 FSH, peak estradiol levels, length of stimulation, and number of oocytes retrieved. In addition, compared with Caucasian women, African American had significantly greater body mass indices (26.5 ± 5.2 vs. 23.7 ± 4.8) and required significantly more total gonadotropin (IU) (4,791 ± 2,161 vs. 3,725 ± 2,005) for ovarian stimulation. African American women were more likely to have uterine fibroids (21% vs. 3%) and tubal factor infertility (23% vs. 9%). Caucasian women were more likely to have unexplained infertility (53% vs. 32%). Differences in embryo yield between patient groups persisted after accounting for differences in infertility diagnosis and prevalence of fibroids. Biochemical, clinical pregnancy, and live birth rates as well as implantation rates (number of sacs visualized/number of embryos transferred) did not significantly differ between groups. Conclusion(s): Although African Americans yield fewer embryos than Caucasian women with IVF, these ethnic groups do not seem to differ with regard to IVF pregnancy outcomes.