Lead concentration in follicular fluid of infertile patients with and without endometriosis: a propensity score matching exploratory study

Objective: Fertilization (IVF) outcomes. Methods: We conducted an exploratory retrospective observational case-control study at the Fertility Unit of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, utilizing propensity score matching to compare follicular fluid samples from infertile patients with and without endometriosis undergoing IVF from January 2022 to July 2024. The study's initial aim was to tentatively assess variations in lead concentration in the follicular fluid of women undergoing IVF with or without endometriosis. Additionally, a small-scale sub-analysis was performed to begin investigating how these follicular lead levels might relate to serum Beta-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) positivity after embryo transfer in the endometriosis group. Results: In this preliminary evaluation, follicular fluid samples from 46 patients were analyzed, comprising 13 with endometriosis and 33 matched controls without. The median follicular lead concentration was notably higher in patients with endometriosis (2.07 µg/dL) compared to controls (0.63 µg/dL; p