Economic perspective of evaluating fertility treatment in obese and overweight infertile women

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate direct cost of in-vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) cycle and reproductive outcomes among infertile women with different body mass index (BMI). METHODS: A retrospective study of 826 subfertility patients who had IVF or IVF-ICSI in 2017 to 2018 were reviewed. The patients were divided into 4 groups bestowing to BMI to normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)), underweight (<18.5 kg/m(2)), overweight(25-29.9 kg/m(2)), and obese(≥30 kg/m(2)). Data on treatment costs of IVF/ICSI and reproductive outcomes were collected and analyzed. A total of 338 patients (40.9%) were overweight, and 300 (36.3%) patients were obese. A bottom-up methodology was used to measure the resource utilization. The capital inputs needed for individual procedures were defined and calculated by consulting with appropriate clinicians and priced using market prices for 2017-2018. RESULTS: There was no statistical significant difference for live birth rate (LBR) among the BMI groups, with the occurrence of LBR in 23 women with normal BMI (13.1%), in 48 (14.2%) women who were overweight, in 48 (16%) in women who were obese (p=0.7). The median cost for IVF/ICSI treatment cycle did not differ across BMI groups; the cost was 10,380 SAR for women of normal weight, 10,440 SAR for women who are overweight and obese (p=0.6). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that costs of IVF/IVF-ICSI is not significantly affected in women who are overweight or obese.