EFFECT OF PARENTAL AGE ON FERTILIZATION AND PREGNANCY CHARACTERISTICSIN COUPLES TREATED BY INTRACYTOPLASMIC SPERM INJECTION

The purpose of this study was to investigate any influence of maternal and/or paternal age on gamete characteristics and pregnancy outcomes in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles, In all, 821 consecu tive ICSI cases were analysed retrospectively. While a significant lin ear decline in semen volume was detected, no significant differences i n the concentration, motility or morphology of the spermatozoa were fo und with paternal ageing, A significant decline in the number of oocyt es retrieved and the number of mature oocytes obtained was found with advancing maternal age, An increase in the occurrence of digyny was no ted with parental ageing, while no difference in single or bipronuclea r fertilization was found, Older women had a decreased incidence of si ngle pronucleus formation and an increase in digyny, but no significan t difference in the percentage of oocytes that underwent two-pronuclea r fertilization was detected with regard to maternal ageing, Pregnancy outcomes were not influenced by the age of the male partner, while a strong negative correlation was found with maternal ageing, To better analyse male partner ageing as a factor affecting pregnancy outcome, w e analysed a subgroup of patients with a female partner aged <35 years who underwent ICSI, No paternal influence on ICSI pregnancy outcome w as found in this subgroup of patients. We conclude that the influence on pregnancy outcome after ICSI is related mostly to maternal and not paternal age.