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Assisted reproductive technology and long-term ophthalmic morbidity of the offspring
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2020
Abstract
In this study, we investigate if children born following assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) are at an increased risk for long-term ophthalmic complications. For this purpose, a population-based cohort analysis was conducted which included all deliveries between 1991 and 2014 at a single tertiary medical center. Offspring were classified relative to conception method as ART or spontaneous pregnancies. Offspring hospitalizations up to the age of 18 years involving ophthalmic morbidities were evaluated according to a predefined set of ICD-9 codes. A Kaplan–Meier survival curve was used to compare cumulative hospitalization rates in exposed (ART) and unexposed offspring (spontaneous), and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to control for potential confounders. A total of 243,682 deliveries were included in the study. In that, 1.8% of the deliveries (4364) were of mothers who underwent fertility treatments and 98.2% (239,318) were conceived spontaneously. Offspring born to mothers who underwent fertility treatments had a significantly higher hospitalization rate involving ophthalmic morbidity, as compared to spontaneously conceived offspring (1.2% vs. 1.0%, p = 0.04). The Kaplan–Meier survival curve pointed to a significantly higher cumulative incidence of ophthalmic morbidity following ART (log rank p = 0.02). Cox proportional hazards model was adjusted for maternal age, preterm delivery, maternal hypertensive disorders, diabetes, and mode of delivery which demonstrated ART as an independent risk factor for long-term pediatric ophthalmic morbidity (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.37, CI 1.04–1.80, p-value = 0.02). We concluded that ART is an independent risk factor for long-term ophthalmic morbidity of the offspring.
Keywords
- Type
- Original Article
- Information
- Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , August 2021 , pp. 627 - 631
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
Footnotes
These two aforementioned authors have equally contributed to this article.
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