Table 2.
Association between intrafollicular melatonin levels and IVF outcome parameters
| Characteristics | Group A (intrafollicular melatonin concentration ≤ 30 pg/mL) | Group B (intrafollicular melatonin concentration > 70 to ≤ 110 pg/mL) | Group C (intrafollicular melatonin concentration > 111 to ≤ 385 pg/mL) | Kruskal-Wallis test (p value*) | p value** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of follicles with > 18-mm size (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
15.91 ± 2.43 13.2 (12.11 ± 17.12) |
16.18 ± 2.12 13.5 (8.9; 16.21) |
17.31 ± 1.08 14.1 (9; 17) |
0.165 | – |
| No. of retrieved oocytes (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
13.34 ± 3.88 11.6 (2; 14) |
14.09 ± 2.90 12 (9; 15) |
15.4 ± 2.09 14 (11; 16) |
0.543 | – |
| No. of MII- oocytes (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
4.41 ± 0.94 4.11 (1–4.5) |
10.12 ± 1.11 9.83 (6.89; 11.11) |
13.31 ± 2.11 12.12 (10.21; 15.12) |
< 0.001 | < 0.001ab |
| No. of fertilized oocytes (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
3.99 ± 0.95 3.21 (1; 3.5) |
9.98 ± 2.12 8.11 (6.98; 10.87) |
12.98 ± 2.01 11.91 (9.07; 14.41) |
< 0.001 | < 0.001a, 0.003b |
| No. of normal fertilized oocytes (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
3.16 ± 0.34 2.98 (1; 3) |
9.65 ± 1.98 8.69 (6.32; 9.21) |
12.39 ± 1.88 11.01 (9.10; 14.13) |
< 0.001 | < 0.001abc |
| No. of early cleaved zygotes (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
2.10 ± 0.54 1.89 (1; 2.8) |
8.91 ± 1.09 8.21 (7.09; 9.01) |
11.59 ± 1.87 10.61 (8.14; 12.58) |
< 0.001 | < 0.001abc |
| No. of blastomeres (6–8 cells) with regular symmetry at day 3 (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
2.01 ± 0.12 1.62 (1; 2) |
7.26 ± 1.01 7.15 (6.09; 8.81) |
10.84 ± 1.88 10.2 (9.18; 11.86) |
< 0.001 | < 0.001abc |
| No. of high-quality day 3 embryos (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
1.06 ± 0.76 1 (0; 2) |
6.32 ± 1.43 6.21 (5.31; 6.81) |
9.65 ± 1.92 7.94 (6.98; 9.87) |
< 0.001 | < 0.001a, 0.004b |
| No. of embryos suitable for transfer (mean ± SD) [median (95% population limit)] |
1.03 ± 0.65 1.01 (1–2.5) |
6.22 ± 0.98 6.18 (4.87; 6.58) |
9.53 ± 1.68 7.68 (7.09; 9.13) |
< 0.001 | < 0.001abc |
| Fragmentation rate (%) | 20–25 | 8–15 | ≤ 10 |
Intrafollicular data for patients are also subjected to statistical differences
p* Kruskal-Wallis test, p** pairwise comparisons between subgroups, and p < 0.05 considered statistically significant
aGroup A/C
bGroup A/B
cGroup C/B