Effect of deprivation on in vitro fertilisation outcome: a cohort study

OBJECTIVE To determine whether socioeconomic deprivation affects IVF outcome independent of the number of cycles undertaken. DESIGN A retrospective review of prospectively collected data. SETTING A tertiary level fertility clinic in the North of England. POPULATION All participants undergoing their first fresh single-embryo transfer, funded by the National Health Service (NHS), between January 2012 and December 2017. METHODS For each case, identified from the clinic database, we recorded the following: age; body mass index; FSH; number of eggs retrieved; ethnicity; cause of subfertility; stage of embryo transfer; and whether any adjuncts i.e. EmbryoGlue® or Time Lapse Imaging were used. Socio-economic deprivation was assessed using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) determined by the residential postcode. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Clinical pregnancy (CP) and live birth (LB) rates across IMD quintiles. RESULTS Three thousand ninety-one women were included. Overall, CP and LB rates were 35.9% and 31.3% respectively. CP rates increased significantly from 31.0% in the most deprived group to 38.8% in the least deprived group (P