PLoS Medicine (Sep 2021)

Cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes in children born after assisted reproductive technology: A population-based cohort study.

  • Emma Norrman,
  • Max Petzold,
  • Mika Gissler,
  • Anne Lærke Spangmose,
  • Signe Opdahl,
  • Anna-Karina Henningsen,
  • Anja Pinborg,
  • Aila Tiitinen,
  • Annika Rosengren,
  • Liv Bente Romundstad,
  • Ulla-Britt Wennerholm,
  • Christina Bergh

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003723
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 9
p. e1003723

Abstract

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BackgroundSome earlier studies have found indications of significant changes in cardiometabolic risk factors in children born after assisted reproductive technology (ART). Most of these studies are based on small cohorts with high risk of selection bias. In this study, we compared the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes between singleton children born after ART and singleton children born after spontaneous conception (SC).Methods and findingsThis was a large population-based cohort study of individuals born in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark between 1984 and 2015. Data were obtained from national ART and medical birth registers and cross-linked with data from national patient registers and other population-based registers in the respective countries. In total, 122,429 children born after ART and 7,574,685 children born after SC were included. Mean (SD) maternal age was 33.9 (4.3) years for ART and 29.7 (5.2) for SC, 67.7% versus 41.8% were primiparous, and 45.2% versus 32.1% had more than 12 years of education. Preterm birth (ConclusionsIn this study, we observed no difference in the risk of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes between children born after ART and children born after SC. For obesity, there was a small but significant increased risk for children born after ART.Trial registration numberISRCTN11780826.