Menstrual cycle length is an age-independent marker of female fertility: results from 6271 treatment cycles of in vitro fertilization.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Eskilstuna, Sweden. thomasbrodin@telia.com

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether menstrual cycle length correlates with success rates at IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and could be used as a marker of ovarian reserve. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Private infertility centre. PATIENT(S): A total of 6271 IVF/ICSI treatment cycles. INTERVENTION(S): Self-reported mean number of menstrual days during the last year was recorded before initiation of IVF/ICSI treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Relations between menstrual cycle length and pregnancy and delivery rates. RESULT(S): Increasing age was associated with a subtle shortening of mean menstrual cycle length. Menstrual cycle length correlated linearly with pregnancy and delivery rates, even after age adjustment. The chance of delivery after IVF/ICSI was almost doubled for women with a menstrual cycle length >34 days compared with women with a menstrual cycle length <26 days. Menstrual cycle length was also significantly associated with ovarian response to FSH/hMG stimulation and embryo quality. CONCLUSION(S): Mean menstrual cycle length is highly related to success rates in assisted reproduction, independently of age. A precise menstrual cycle history could be used as a simple marker of ovarian reserve.

PMID: 18155201 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]