The incidence of unexpected poor ovarian response in Chinese young women

Unexpected poor ovarian response (UPOR) is a problem for both clinicians and infertile couples, because our understanding of this situation is limited. This article investigated incidence of UPOR in women <35 years with normal ovarian reserve function with further analysis. This is a retrospective study, which included 567 women who accepted their first IVF-ET/ICSI. Based on the number of oocytes retrieved, clinic pregnancy rate of fresh cycle, and cycle cancellation rate of fresh cycle, the included cycles were divided into three groups namely unexpected poor ovarian response (UPOR) (n = 120), for which number of oocytes retrieved was not more than 6; normal ovarian response (NOR) (n = 223), for which number of oocytes retrieved was between 7 and 12; and unexpected high ovarian response (UHOR) (n = 224), for which the number of oocytes retrieved was 13 at least. The comparisons of clinical outcomes and correlated hormones among groups were carried out. The incidence of UPOR in Chinese women is 21.16%. Patient age (χ(2) = 6.177, P = .0129), basic FSH (χ(2) = 20.585, P < .0001), basic LH (χ(2) = 11.689, P = .0006), and AFC (χ(2) = 8.053, P = .0045) might be helpful for diagnosis of UPOR. The basic evaluation of ovarian function may no longer be simplified into normal and abnormal ovarian reserve function; rather, by using a detailed numerical analysis, such as basal FSH and LH levels, the ovarian response to ovulation induction may be predicted to some extent.