Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the determinants affecting live birth outcomes in fresh embryo transfer among polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients using various machine learning (ML) algorithms and to construct predictive models, offering novel insights for enhancing live birth rates in this specific group. METHODS: A sum of 1,062 fresh embryo transfer cycles involving PCOS patients were analyzed, with 466 resulting in live births. The dataset was split randomly into training and testing subsets at a 7:3 ratio. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and recursive feature elimination methods were utilized for feature selection within the training data. A grid search strategy identified the optimal parameters for seven ML models: decision tree (DT), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM), naive Bayes model(NBM), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). The evaluation of model effectiveness incorporated diverse metrics, encompassing area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, F1 score, and Brier score. Calibration curves and decision curve analysis were employed to ascertain the optimal model. Furthermore, Shapley additive explanations were applied to elucidate the importance of predictor variables in the top-performing model. RESULTS: The AUC values of DT, KNN, LightGBM, NBM, RF, SVM and XGBoost models in the training set were 0.813, 1.000, 0.724, 0.791, 1.000, 0.819 and 0.853, respectively. Corresponding values in the testing set were 0.773, 0.719, 0.705, 0.764, 0.794, 0.806 and 0.822. XGBoost emerged as the most effective ML model. SHAP analysis revealed that variables encompassing embryo transfer count, embryo type, maternal age, infertility duration, body mass index, serum testosterone (T) levels, and progesterone (P) levels on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin administration were pivotal predictors of live birth outcomes in individuals with PCOS receiving fresh embryo transfer. CONCLUSION: This study developed a live birth prediction model tailored for PCOS fresh embryo transfer cycles, leveraging ML algorithms to compare the efficacy of multiple models. The XGBoost model demonstrated superior predictive capacity, enabling prompt and precise identification of critical risk factors influencing live birth outcomes in PCOS patients. These findings offer actionable insights for clinical intervention, guiding strategies to improve pregnancy outcomes in this population. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.