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ObjectiveTo evaluate patterns in air pollution concentrations and in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates using data from alarge, long-term clinical database. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study investigating South Korean women who pursued IVF and embryo transfer(IVF-ET) between 2011 and 2017. Hourly concentrations of air pollutants measured at 318 air quality monitoringsites in South Korea between 2011 and 2017 were obtained from the National Institute of Environmental Research. Monthly trends in pregnancy rates and concentrations of air pollutants were assessed. ResultsA total of 34,427 IVF-ET cycles in 18,478 patients were analyzed. The mean age of women at the time of IVF-ET was36.6 years. The clinical pregnancy rate in the IVF-ET cycle was 30%. Analysis of pregnancy failure rates by monthshowed that IVF-ET failure rates tended to be higher in March and April and lower in July and August. Concentrationsof air pollutants including particulate matter (PM) less than 10 μm in diameter, PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter,sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide were highest in March and April and lowest between July andSeptember. ConclusionWithin-year variations were similar between IVF-ET failure rates and air pollution concentrations based on analysisof a large, long-term database. Specifically, IVF-ET success rates were highest when PM concentrations were lowest. Further studies are warranted to examine the mechanisms accounting for the association between IVF success and airpollutant exposure.
