Metformin improves IVF results in overweight women with PCOS: JAMA

Zhejiang, China: Metformin treatment decreases the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) but does not affect the overall pregnancy rate or live birth in PCOS women undergoing assisted fertilization (IVF/ICSI-ET), finds a new study. However, for women with a BMI of 26 or higher, metformin treatment increased the clinical pregnancy rate.

Findings of the study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, suggest that metformin treatment should be carefully considered in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET). The treatment may be more preferred for women having a BMI greater than 26. 

Metformin is a widely used treatment for PCOS women. However, its associations with outcomes of IVF or ICSI-ET in PCOS women remains controversial. So, Yiqing Wu, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, and colleagues assessed whether metformin is associated with improved outcomes of IVF/ICSI-ET in women with PCOS.

The researchers searched the online databases from database inception to January 31, 2020. It included randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that enrolled with PCOS undergoing infertility treatment with IVF/ICSI-ET and reported at least 1 outcome of IVF/ICSI-ET.