Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 May;17(5):264-8.
doi: 10.1023/a:1009458332567.

The prognostic value of age and follicle-stimulating hormone levels in women over forty years of age undergoing in vitro fertilization

A H Watt  1 , A T Legedza, E S Ginsburg, R L Barbieri, R N Clarke, M D Hornstein
Affiliations

The prognostic value of age and follicle-stimulating hormone levels in women over forty years of age undergoing in vitro fertilization

A H Watt et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2000 May.

Abstract

Purpose: Basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and age are predictors of successful outcome in in vitro fertilization (IVF). More recently, the clomiphene citrate challenge test (CCCT) has been proposed as a better way to predict IVF outcome than FSH alone. The purpose of this study was to determine which indicator of ovarian reserve--basal (day 3) FSH or the CCCT--is the better predictor of IVF success in the critical age group of women over the age of 40.

Methods: In this retrospective study, basal FSH and clomiphene-stimulated FSH levels from 104 women who underwent 175 cycles of IVF were analyzed.

Results: Neither basal FSH level nor stimulated FSH level alone were statistically significant predictors of IVF success; however, no patient with a day 3 FSH level > 11.1 mIU/ml or a stimulated day 10 FSH level > 13.5 mIU/ml conceived and carried a pregnancy. All ongoing pregnancies occurred in the first two cycles of IVF.

Conclusions: Clear prognostic cutoff values were found to predict IVF success in women over age 40. IVF programs should consider limiting the number of cycles of IVF in women above age 40.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Piette C, Mouzon J, Banchelot A, Spira A. In-vitro fertilization: influence of women's age on pregnancy rate. Hum Reprod. 1990;5:56–59. - PubMed
    1. Padilla SL, Garcia JE. Effect of maternal age and number of in vitro procedures on pregnancy outcome. Fertil Steril. 1989;52:270–273. - PubMed
    1. Rotsztejn DA, Asch RH. Effect of aging on assisted reproductive technologies (ART): Experience from egg donation. Sem Reprod Endocrinol. 1991;9:271–279.
    1. Toner JP, Philput CB, Jones GS, Muasher SJU. Basal follicle-stimulating hormone level is a better predictor of in vitro fertilization performance than age. Fertil Steril. 1991;55:784–791. - PubMed
    1. Pearlstone AC, Fournet N, Gambone JC, Pang SC, Buyalos RP. Ovulation induction in women age 40 and older: The importance of basal follicle-stimulating hormone level and chronological age. Fertil Steril. 1992;58:674–679. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources