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
. 2011 Nov-Dec;17(6):761-71.
doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmr028. Epub 2011 Jun 24.

The prevalence of congenital uterine anomalies in unselected and high-risk populations: a systematic review

Y Y Chan  1 , K Jayaprakasan, J Zamora, J G Thornton, N Raine-Fenning, A Coomarasamy
Affiliations

The prevalence of congenital uterine anomalies in unselected and high-risk populations: a systematic review

Y Y Chan et al. Hum Reprod Update. 2011 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of congenital uterine anomalies in high-risk women is unclear, as several different diagnostic approaches have been applied to different groups of patients. This review aims to evaluate the prevalence of such anomalies in unselected populations and in women with infertility, including those undergoing IVF treatment, women with a history of miscarriage, women with infertility and recurrent miscarriage combined, and women with a history of preterm delivery.

Methods: Searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane register were performed. Study selection and data extraction were conducted independently by two reviewers. Studies were grouped into those that used 'optimal' and 'suboptimal' tests for uterine anomalies. Meta-analyses were performed to establish the prevalence of uterine anomalies and their subtypes within the various populations.

Results: We identified 94 observational studies comprising 89 861 women. The prevalence of uterine anomalies diagnosed by optimal tests was 5.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.5-8.5] in the unselected population, 8.0% (95% CI, 5.3-12) in infertile women, 13.3% (95% CI, 8.9-20.0) in those with a history of miscarriage and 24.5% (95% CI, 18.3-32.8) in those with miscarriage and infertility. Arcuate uterus is most common in the unselected population (3.9%; 95% CI, 2.1-7.1), and its prevalence is not increased in high-risk groups. In contrast, septate uterus is the most common anomaly in high-risk populations.

Conclusions: Women with a history of miscarriage or miscarriage and infertility have higher prevalence of congenital uterine anomalies compared with the unselected population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The study selection process for the systematic review on the prevalence of uterine anomalies in unselected and high-risk populations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Acien P. Reproductive performance of women with uterine malformations. Hum Reprod. 1993;8:122–126. - PubMed
    1. Acien P. Uterine anomalies and recurrent miscarriage. Infertil Reprod Med Clin North Am. 1996;7:689–719.
    1. Acien P. Incidence of Mullerian defects in fertile and infertile women. Hum Reprod. 1997;12:1372–1376. - PubMed
    1. Airoldi J, Berghella V, Sehdev H, Ludmir J. Transvaginal ultrasonography of the cervix to predict preterm birth in women with uterine anomalies. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;106:553–556. - PubMed
    1. Akar ME, Bayar D, Yildiz S, Ozel M, Yilmaz Z. Reproductive outcome of women with unicornuate uterus. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2005;45:148–150. - PubMed

Publication types