INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

Threefold increased risk of infertility: a meta-analysis of infertility after ileal pouch anal anastomosis in ulcerative colitis

A Waljee¹, J Waljee², A M Morris³, P D R Higgins⁴

¹ University of Michigan, Department of Internal Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
² University of Michigan, Department of Surgery, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
³ University of Michigan, Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
⁴ University of Michigan, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Correspondence to:
Dr P D R Higgins
Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan, 6520 MSRB I, Box 0682, 1150 West Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; phiggins{at}umich.edu

Background: Increased infertility in women has been reported after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) for ulcerative colitis but reported infertility rates vary substantially.

Aims: (1) To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relative risk of infertility post-IPAA compared with medical management; (2) to estimate the rate of infertility post-IPAA; and (3) to identify modifiable risk factors which contribute to infertility.

Methods: Medline, EMBASE, Current Contents, meeting abstracts, and bibliographies were searched independently by two investigators. The titles and abstracts of 189 potentially relevant studies were reviewed; eight met the criteria and all data were extracted independently. Consensus was achieved on each data point, and fixed effects meta-analyses, a funnel plot, and sensitivity analyses were performed.

Results: The initial meta-analysis of eight studies had significant heterogeneity (p = 0.004) due to one study with very high preoperative infertility (38%). When this study was omitted, the relative risk of infertility after IPAA was 3.17 (2.41–4.18), with non-significant heterogeneity. The weighted average infertility rate in medically treated ulcerative colitis was 15% for all seven studies, and the weighted average infertility rate was 48% after IPAA (50% if all eight studies are included). We were unable to identify any procedural factors that consistently affected the risk of infertility.

Conclusions: IPAA increases the risk of infertility in women with ulcerative colitis by approximately threefold. Infertility, defined as achieving pregnancy in 12 months of attempting conception, increased from 15% to 48% in women post-IPAA for ulcerative colitis. This provides a basis for counselling patients considering colectomy with IPAA. Further studies of modifiable risk factors are needed.

Abbreviations: UC, ulcerative colitis; IPAA, ileal pouch-anal anastomosis; FAP, familial adenomatous polyposis; RR, relative risk; IRA, ileorectal anastomosis

Keywords: ulcerative colitis; ileal pouch-anal anastomosis; infertility; fertility

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