Y chromosome microdeletions are not associated with spontaneous recurrent pregnancy loss in a Sinhalese population in Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND Many advances have been made in reproductive medicine, yet the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy remains the most common complication of pregnancy. The aetiology of spontaneous recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is multifactorial. Y chromosome microdeletions are found in ∼7% of men with low sperm counts and, compared with the general population, a higher frequency of spontaneous pregnancy loss occurs in infertile couples. The current study was designed to examine whether Y chromosome microdeletions were associated with RPL in a Sinhalese population in Sri Lanka. METHODS The subjects were 76 male partners of couples where the female partner had experienced three or more RPLs. One hundred and twenty random males from the general population were also analysed as a control group. DNA extracted from peripheral blood was tested for Y chromosome microdeletions in the azoospermic factor (AZF), AZFa, AZFb, AZFc regions using a multiplex PCR amplification system. Partial deletions within the AZFc region were also tested. RESULTS None of the men (76 with RPL, and the 120 controls) had any microdeletions in the AZFa, AZFb, AZFc regions or partial deletions in the AZFc region. CONCLUSIONS Y chromosome microdeletions do not appear to be important in the aetiology of RPL in this population in Sri Lanka.