AUTHOR=Holzer Iris , Ott Johannes , Beitl Klara , Mayrhofer Daniel , Heinzl Florian , Ebenbauer Johanna , Parry John Preston 

TITLE=Iron status in women with infertility and controls: a case-control study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1173100

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2023.1173100

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Iron deficiency is a common problem in subfertile women. The influence of iron status on unexplained infertility is unknown.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>In a case-control study, 36 women with unexplained infertility and 36 healthy non-infertile controls were included. Parameters of iron status including serum ferritin and a serum ferritin &lt;30 µg/dL served as main outcome parameters.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Women with unexplained infertility demonstrated a lower transferrin saturation (median 17.3%, IQR 12.7-25.2 versus 23.9%, IQR 15.4-31.6; <italic>p=</italic> 0.034) and a lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (median 33.6 g/dL, IQR 33.0-34.1 versus 34.1 g/dL, IQR 33.2-34.7; <italic>p=</italic> 0.012). Despite the fact that there was no statistically significant difference in median ferritin levels (<italic>p=</italic> 0.570), women with unexplained infertility had ferritin levels &lt;30µg/L more often (33.3%) than controls (11.1%; <italic>p=</italic> 0.023). In a multivariate model, unexplained infertility and abnormal thyroid antibodies were associated with ferritin &lt;30µg/L (OR 4.906, 95%CI: 1.181-20.388; <italic>p=</italic> 0.029 and OR 13.099; 2.382-72.044; <italic>p=</italic> 0.029, respectively).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Ferritin levels &lt;30µg/L were associated with unexplained infertility and might be screened in the future. Further studies with a focus on iron deficiency and iron treatment on women with unexplained infertility are warranted.</p></sec>