Overview of the Intersection of Genomics of Cholesterol Metabolism and Cardiometabolic Disease with Reproductive Health, Especially in Women

About 15% of reproductive aged couples in the United States experience infertility, which is defined as the failure to achieve a successful pregnancy after 12 months or more of appropriate, timed, and unprotected intercourse or therapeutic donor insemination. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, about 30% of infertility cases can be attributed to female causes, 30% to male factors, and the remaining cases involve a combination of male and female factors, in addition to unexplained causes. Understanding the various pathologic mechanisms underlying infertility represents an active area of research and serves as an important first step in our ability to treat this health problem.