Fetal
chromosomal abnormalities are a common cause of
spontaneous abortion. The present study investigated the association between fetal
chromosomal abnormalities and the frequency of
spontaneous abortions to enable clinicians to provide more informed genetic counseling. A total of 182 patients with a history of
spontaneous abortions were recruited from July 2015 to August 2017. G-banding cytogenetic analysis and novel high-throughput
ligation-dependent probe amplification (HLPA) techniques were performed on conception in all 182 patients to detect
chromosomal abnormalities. Low-coverage whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed in 74 patients to detect copy number variations (CNVs). There were no significant differences in the incidence of karyotype abnormalities between patients with sporadic
miscarriages (48.0%; SM group) and patients suffering recurrent
spontaneous abortions (44.8%; RSA group). The maternal age was markedly higher in patients with 3
miscarriages. WGS indicated that the incidence of pathogenic CNVs in the RSA group was higher than that in the SM group, but the difference was not significant. In conclusion, a high incidence of karyotype abnormalities and pathogenic CNVs was observed in patients with
spontaneous abortion. However, no association between fetal
chromosomal abnormalities and the number of
spontaneous abortions was observed. HLPA assays may be used as an alternative method for fetal karyotype analysis and determination of CNVs in patients with SM and RSA.