Cited by 65Sexual Differentiation and DisordersOvarian function and disordersAdrenal Hormones and Disorders

Classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia and its impact on reproduction

Open access
Gomes, Larissa G., Bachega, Tania A.S.S., Mendonca, Berenice B.·2019·Fertility and Sterility

Abstract

Women with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) can suffer from impaired fertility rates as a result of increased androgen secretion or impaired sex steroid production. In virilizing CAH forms, such as 21-hydroxylase and 11β-hydroxylase deficiency, the low reported pregnancy rate is mainly secondary to a diminished desire to conceive. Optimal glucocorticoid and/or mineralocorticoid replacement, sufficient to normalize androgen and P levels in the follicular phase, allows natural conception in most cases. The remaining CAH forms exemplified by StAR, P450scc, P450-oxidoreductase, and 17α-hydroxylase/17-20 lyase deficiencies are associated with impaired sex steroid production. Several factors are involved in the true low fertility rate in this group: folliculogenesis arrest, uterine hypoplasia, and inadequate endometrial thickness related to aberrant androgen, estrogen, and P secretion. There are several reports of successful term pregnancies achieved through controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, followed by estrogen replacement and IVF. Progress in female genitalia reconstructive surgery, individualized hormonal therapies, psychosexual evaluation, and assisted reproductive technology have improved fertility and pregnancy outcomes in women with classic CAH. Finally, successful gestational management in CAH patients requires the close coordination of care between endocrinologists and obstetricians.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.11.037

Cites

60 of 60 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Poor hormonal control in CAH is associated with acne, female hirsutism, male pattern baldness, altered body habitus, irregular menses, and sub-normal fertility.

    “Young women with well-controlled CAH usually experience normal menarche (34), but poor control is associated with acne, female hirsutism, male pattern baldness, altered body habitus, irregular menses, and sub-normal fertility (35).”
  • When patients attempt pregnancy, the success rate seems to have increased in the last twenty years, as a result of various factors, including increased understanding of the effect of androgen and progesterone levels, and the level of mineralocorticoid substitution.

    “When patients attempt pregnancy, the success rate seems to have increased in the last twenty years, as a result of various factors, including increased understanding of the effect of androgen and progesterone levels, and the level of mineralocorticoid substitution (35).”

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

3 of the 63 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Gomes, L. G., Bachega, T. A. S. S., & Mendonca, B. B.
Affiliations
Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
Corresponding author
Mendonca, Berenice B.
Venue
Fertility and Sterility
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-01
Volume
111
Issue
1
Pages
7-12
ISSN
0015-0282 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2907667895
Cited by
58
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4
FWCI
0.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Fertility and Sterility (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (2015/17350-0)
  • Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (2014/1459789)
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (303002/2016-6, 303088/2015-0)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
Keywords
classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, female fertility, pregnancy outcomes, 21-hydroxylase deficiency, 11beta-hydroxylase deficiency, steroidogenic enzyme deficiency, hyperandrogenism, sex steroid production, uterine hypoplasia, endometrial thickness, controlled ovarian stimulation, in vitro fertilization, glucocorticoid replacement therapy, mineralocorticoid replacement, assisted reproduction
MeSH terms
Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital, Birth Rate, Female, Fertility, Humans, Male, Pregnancy, Reproduction, Steroid 17-alpha-Hydroxylase, Steroid 21-Hydroxylase, Pregnancy Rate

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review