Babies born through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) have a higher risk of heart defects than babies conceived naturally, a recent study shows.
More than 3 million children are born through assisted reproduction every year around the world. Studies show that children born on ART are at increased risk of prematurity, low birth weight and certain birth defects.
in the latest large study Researchers published a study in the European Heart Journal that assessed the risk of congenital heart disease in more than 7.7 million newborns in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The birth cohort included 171,735 children conceived through assisted reproduction, including in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and embryo freezing.
Researchers found that babies conceived through ART had a 36% higher risk of being born with serious heart defects compared with babies conceived naturally. Regardless of the type of assisted reproduction used, the risks are similar.
“Previous research has shown that babies conceived with assisted reproductive technology are at increased risk. These include prematurity and low birth weight. We wanted to investigate whether babies born after assisted reproduction have a higher risk of heart defects.” explain Professor Ulla-Britt Wennerholm of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in a press release.
The analysis showed that 1.84% of children conceived after ART had congenital heart disease, compared with 1.15% of children conceived naturally.
Another interesting finding was that although the overall incidence of serious congenital heart defects was similar, the incidence was slightly higher in children conceived through ART than in children conceived naturally (0.35% vs 0.26%).
The researchers note that this increased risk is particularly associated with multiple births, which is common in assisted reproduction.
“We already know that babies born through assisted reproductive technology have a higher risk of birth defects overall, but we found that the risk of congenital heart defects, the most common major birth defect, is also higher. The fact is, the risk of heart defects is Regardless of the type of assisted reproduction used, similar results may indicate some common factors between parental infertility and congenital heart disease in infants,” said Professor Wennerholm.