Fertility Treatment Does Not Negatively Impact Heart Health of Child

New study shows that children conceived through IVF are not at a higher risk of heart problems compared to their peers

Highlights:

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is used to treat infertility, out of which in vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the common known types
Previous studies have postulated that children conceived through IVF may later develop cardiometabolic disorders like blood pressure
The current study has shown that there is no difference in heart health of children conceived through IVF and their naturally conceived peers

A new study found that the effects of fertility treatment have no significant difference in blood pressure, heart rate, lipids, and glucose measurements between children conceived naturally and those conceived using assisted reproductive technologies (ART) ().

Use of assisted reproductive technology (ART), which mainly involves in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), has risen rapidly in developed countries in recent decades, leading to >8 million births worldwide, and this is expected to continue to rise ().

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‘Children conceived through IVF do not have a higher chance of developing heart problems compared to those conceived naturally’

The study clears the concern around whether fertility treatment leads to adverse cardiometabolic health in offspring. The data sample included 8,600 children from Bristol’s Children of the 90s study, a world-leading health study which has followed pregnant women and their offspring since 1991.

Since the first birth of a child by in vitro fertilisation (IVF), questions have been raised about the health risks to children conceived this way. However, previous studies have been limited by small sample size, short follow-up, and unsatisfactory comparison groups.

The research was led by an international research group from the Assisted Reproductive Technology and Health (A.R.T-Health) Partnership, looked at data from 35,000 European, Singaporean, and Australian offspring. It was large enough to study whether conception by ART affected blood pressure, pulse rate, lipids, or glucose from childhood to young adulthood (up to early 20s).

Effect of IVF on the Baby’s Heart Health

Researchers found that blood pressure, heart rate, and glucose levels were similar in children conceived using ART compared to their naturally conceived counterparts.Although, those who were conceived by ART had slightly higher cholesterol levels in childhood, it did not persist to adulthood, and there is some indication of slightly higher blood pressure in adulthood.

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“This is the largest study of its kind, and could not be conducted without data from studies such as children of the 90s. Parents conceiving or hoping to conceive through assisted reproductive technology and their offspring should be reassured that cardiometabolic health appears to be comparable in ART-conceived and naturally conceived children. Studies with longer follow-up would now be beneficial to examine how results might change across adulthood,” said Dr Ahmed Elhakeem, Research Fellow in Epidemiology in Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences (PHS) at the University of Bristol, and lead study author.

“This important research is only possible through large scale international collaboration and longitudinal health studies, where participants contribute health data throughout their entire lives. We are particularly grateful to the European Research Council, British Heart Foundation, and UK National Institute for Health Research for making this possible and to all of the study participants and researchers,” added Deborah Lawlor, Professor of Epidemiology, MRC Investigator and British Heart Foundation Chair and senior author from Bristol Medical School: PHS.

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“Each year, around 60,000 patients use fertility services in the UK in the hope of one day having a family of their own. Those patients should be reassured by this study, which shows that the heart health of children born from assisted reproduction technologies, like IVF, are no different from children conceived naturally,” said Peter Thompson, Chief Executive, The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

What is IVF?

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a complex series of procedures used to help with fertility or prevent genetic problems and assist with the conception of a child.

During IVF, mature eggs are collected (retrieved) from ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab. Then the fertilized egg (embryo) or eggs (embryos) are transferred to a uterus. One full cycle of IVF takes about three weeks. Sometimes these steps are split into different parts and the process can take longer.

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IVF is the most effective form of assisted reproductive technology. The procedure can be done using a couple's own eggs and sperm. Or IVF may involve eggs, sperm, or embryos from a known or anonymous donor. In some cases, a gestational carrier, someone who has an embryo implanted in the uterus might be used.

Science and research move rapidly in the fertility sector, but it is widely acknowledged that more large scale studies like this are needed to continually drive improvements in care. Health outcomes in children conceived using assisted reproductive technologies are of high priority.

References:

Long-term cardiometabolic health in people born after assisted reproductive technology: a multi-cohort analysis - (https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehac726/7026325)
In vitro fertilisation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection beyond 2020 - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30548407/)

Source-Medindia