The Impact of Maternal Age on Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) Outcomes in Infertile Couples

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of maternal age on ICSI outcomes representedby the number of retrieved oocytes, number of fertilized oocytes, embryo quality and pregnancy rate ininfertile couples undergoing ICSI.Patients and Method: The study included sixty two infertile couples who underwent ICSI cycles. Theydivided in to two groups depending on females’ age: group ? with age less than 35 years and group ??with age more than 35 years. Assessment of ICSI outcomes in form of retrieved oocytes number, fertilizedoocytes number, quality of embryo and rate of pregnancy were done and the results were compared betweenboth groups.Results: The study showed that females whom their age more than 35 years produced significantly loweroocytes number with a lower fertilized oocytes when compared with females younger than 35 years. (themean total number of retrieved oocytes 3.24±0.52 vs 10.84±0.81 and the mean total number of fertilizedoocytes 2.29±0.26 vs 7.62±0.52, p-value =0.002 and 0.02 respectively. The total number of good qualityembryos was significantly less in the females older than 35 years 1.12±0.18 vs 6.80±0.46, p-value=0.003and the total number of bad quality embryos was significantly more 1.47±0.24 vs 0.60±0.1, p-value=0.02when compared with females younger than 35 years. Pregnancy rate was significantly less in the olderfemales p-value=0.0005.Conclusion: The maternal age is one of the most important predictor of ICSI outcomes. An advancedfemales age has a negative impact on ICSI outcomes and females older than 35 years usually producedlower number of oocytes during oocytes’ retrieval with a lower fertilization rate. Embryos produces fromthose females usually of bad quality and exhibited a lower implantation potential.