Infertility Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Infertility, including details on male and female infertility, treatment, causes, pregnancy.

The combined effect of age and basal follicle-stimulating hormone on the cost of a live birth at assisted reproductive technology.

Henne MB, Stegmann BJ, Neithardt AB, Catherino WH, Armstrong AY, Kao TC, Segars JH

Walter Reed ART Program, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To predict the cost of a delivery following assisted reproductive technologies (ART). DESIGN: Cost analysis based on retrospective chart analysis. SETTING: University-based ART program. PATIENT(S): Women aged >or=26 and <or=42 years with FSH levels <or=12 IU/L on day 3 undergoing a first cycle of fresh, nondonor ART. INTERVENTION(S): Logit regression using a fractional polynomial model of age and basal FSH was used to estimate the probability of a live birth. Cost analysis was applied to the resulting prediction. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The predicted probability of a live birth following ART based on a woman's age and FSH and the associated cost of a live birth. RESULT(S): Analysis of 1,238 first ART cycles produced a prediction model for live birth rates following ART incorporating both age and FSH. A cost analysis based upon combination of age and FSH revealed the cost of a live birth exceeded $100,000 when the probability of a live birth fell below 15% and the cost rose exponentially at lower probabilities of live birth. CONCLUSIONS(S): Based upon a woman's age and FSH and expected cost for a live birth using ART may be calculated. At live birth rates <5%, the cost of ART is high and greatly exceeds the cost of donor cycles. This information is vital for patient counseling.

Published 14 January 2008 in Fertil Steril, 89(1): 104-10.
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