Evaluation of chromosomal changes in patients with spontaneous abortion in Khozestan province

Objective: Approximately 15-20% of clinically recognizable pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion. The incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in those abortions is as high as 50%.A modest but clinically important proportion of spontaneous abortions is caused by a balanced chromosomal aberration in one of the parents. This results from the production of gametes and embryos with unbalanced chromosome sets. The clinical consequences of such abnormal gametes include sterility, recurrent abortions, and giving birth to malformed children. Until now, no such studies have been done in Khozestan province. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency and nature of chromosomal abnormalities that lead to recurrent abortions in Khozestan province, which should help physicians working in the region to realize the contribution of chromosomal abnormalities to cases of repeated fetal loss. Also it compares our region to other countries and research centers. This research study evaluated 142 cases with repeated abortion during 1-year period of the study. Methods and Materials and methods: For routine cytogenetic analysis, 3 ml of peripheral blood was incubated in complete lymphocyte culture medium and colchicine was added at prophase stage for fixing chromosomes. Then, they were categorized by G-banding method. Results: A total of 116 cases with a history of recurrent abortions were examined in this research study. The age of the referred women ranged from 20 to 43 years with an average of 28 years (SD = 4.75). Meanwhile, the age of referred men ranged from 22 to 44 years and with an average of 32.8 years (SD = 4.86). The number of previous abortions varied from 2 to 5 abortions (an average of 2.82 abortions per case). In addition, 8 females (12.7%) and 6 males (11.3%) were found to have abnormal karyotypes. These abnormalities were four balanced translocations, one deletion, one inversion and eight mosaic condition. Among cases with abnormal karyotype, the average of maternal age was 29 years (SD = 3.25). Meanwhile, the average number of abortions for cases with abnormal karyotype was 3.07 (SD = 0.83). Conclusion: The correlation for maternal age and chromosomal abnormality was P=0.083 and for the number of abortions and chromosomal abnormality was P=0.107.