Does cigarette smoking really have a clinical effect on folliculogenesis and oocyte maturation?

Infertility is the most common issue in the field of reproductive medicine. Many factors affect fertility status, including life-style choices such as cigarette smoking or alcohol use. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cigarette smoking on oocyte quality as well the quantity in young fertile women. In total, 56 young fertile women who were undergoing oocyte donation programmes were included in this study. The effects of cigarette smoking on antral follicle count, number of follicles and oocytes retrieved and morphology were assessed by an expert embryologist. The results of this study showed that cigarette smoking did not have a significant effect on the follicle count or the number of oocytes retrieved from young and fertile women. However, a significant difference was observed in the morphological assessment. In conclusion, although cigarette smoking does not seem to affect oocyte development, it had an effect on cytoplasmic anomalies and therefore may lower pregnancy chance. Therefore, it is crucial to give proper counselling to patients who are trying to become pregnant both naturally and by in vitro fertilization.