Comparision of Biochemical Markers Between Spontaneous Pregnancies and Frozen Embryo Transfer Cycles

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the difference between spontaneous pregnancy and frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles in terms of age, BMI, PAPP-A, and free β-HCG. Material and Method: This cross-sectional retrospective study was done on 160 participants who attended the outpatient clinic of our hospital from 2020 January to 2020 September. The participants were divided into two groups: group 1 (Spontaneous pregnancy) and group 2 (FET Cycle). All cases underwent ultrasound assessment at 11-14 weeks to measure pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) concentrations and free beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin (β-HCG). Results: The mean age of the participants was 28.7 years (±4.5). The mean BMI of the participants was 24.3(±2.8), mean PAPP-A was 3.34(±2.3), and mean free β-HCG was 43.6(±28.36). There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in age (P=0.000). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in BMI (P=0.7). The free β-HCG did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.2). The two groups showed a statistically significant difference in PAPP-A levels (P=0.008). There was a negative moderate correlation between age and PAPP-A (-0.21, p-value =0.007) but there was no correlation between age and free β-HCG (-0.045, p-value =0.5), between BMI and PAPP-A (-0.14, p-value =0.07) and free β-HCG (-0.1, p-value =0.1). Conclusion: The type of pregnancy (spontaneous pregnancy and FET Cycle) did not show any significant difference in BMI and free β-HCG, but FET Cycle reduced the PAPP-A levels. The participants undergoing FET Cycle were older than those with spontaneous pregnancy. The older participants had lower PAPP-A levels. IVF pregnancies, including FET Cycle, decreased the PAPP-A levels associated with pregnancy-related complications development, nictitating the appropriate adjustment of the combined screening for IVF conceptions at first trimester.