Effects of assisted reproductive technology on physique and autistic behavior of children： a 3-year longitudinal follow-up study

Abstract

BackgroundAssisted reproductive technology is increasingly mature and widely used in clinic. As more and more newborns are born with assisted reproductive technology， the health problems of these newborns also need more attention.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of assisted reproductive technology on newborn physique and autistic behavior， and to raise the attention of autistic behavior of assisted reproductive children.MethodsFrom the medical record information system， 588 assisted reproduction newborns （assisted reproduction group） born in the obstetrics department of Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University from August 2018 to August 2019 were selected as the study objects. From the medical records information system， 600 newborns born naturally in the obstetrics department in the same period of time were selected as the control group. The basic information of all newborns was collected， including the mother's age and years of education， sex， gestational age， birth weight and birth length， and they were assessed by the Clancy Autism Behavior Scale （CABS） at 3 years of follow-up.ResultsThe educational years of mothers in assisted reproduction group were longer than those in control group ［（12.04±1.96） years vs. （11.34±2.90） years， t=-4.887， P0.05］. At the age of three， the weight and height of the assisted reproduction group were both lower than those of the control group ［（16.16±2.53）kg vs.（16.96±1.67）kg， t=6.393， P<0.01， （95.81±4.50）cm vs.（97.47±7.49）cm， t=4.626， P<0.01］. Respectively， 6 （1.00%） and 15 （2.55%） children with autism were detected in the control group and assisted reproduction group， and the difference was statistically significant （χ2=4.113， P<0.05）.ConclusionAssisted reproductive technology may affect the physical and neurological development of children. ［Funded by Outstanding Young Talents Support Program of Anhui Education Department （number， gxyqZD2022022）］

Keywords

• assisted reproductive technology
• children
• physical development
• neurological development