Recent cigarette smoking and assisted reproductive technologies outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between recent cigarette smoking (CS) in female and male partners and assisted reproduction technology (ART) outcomes.

DESIGN: Cohort prospective study.

SETTING: University ART program in Chile.

PATIENT(S): One hundred sixty-six couples seeking pregnancy through ART.

INTERVENTION(S): Follicular fluid (FF) and serum cotinine concentrations were measured in female partners. Self-reported CS data were collected through personal interviews.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The association between female recent smoking, assessed by FF and serum cotinine concentrations, and ART outcomes, such as number of ova retrieved and implantation rates, and the association between self-reported male recent smoking and live birth rates.

RESULT(S): A significant age-adjusted association between increased FF cotinine level and decreased number of ova retrieved was found. The male partner's smoking habit significantly decreased the live birth rate from 21.1% to 7.8%. Serum cotinine concentrations paralleled those of FF.

CONCLUSION(S): The hypothesis of a detrimental effect of recent female smoking over implantation rates is rejected. However, recent male smoking is associated with significantly decreased live birth rates even after adjusting for confounders. Female recent smoking was significantly associated with decreased number of retrieved ova.