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Assisted reproductive technology techniques and risk for neurodevelopmental disorders

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) techniques are becoming more common nowadays, due to the growing incidence of infertility. Such pregnancies are more often multiple, which carries the risk of premature birth and lower birth weight and, accordingly, a higher risk of occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders. Aside from the before mentioned, other known risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders include chorioamnionitis, gestational diabetes, and respiratory distress. The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence of risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders between two groups of children born preterm, those conceived through ART and those conceived naturally. This was a retrospective study based on the data of births collected by Croatian Institute of Public Health for the year 2018. The study included a total of 2233 children born before week 37 of gestational age, 181 of which were conceived through ART. The prevalence of pathological conditions during pregnancy, delivery, and at birth, known as neurodevelopmental risk factors, was compared between children conceived through ART and those conceived naturally. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to perform data analysis. Pathological conditions in pregnancy were recorded in 82.3% of children conceived by ART, compared to 58.4% of children conceived naturally (p <0.001). The most common disorders during pregnancy are twin pregnancy (2.8%), chorioamnionitis (2.8%), and retarded fetal growth (2.8%). On the other hand, in the group of naturally conceived neonates, the most common diagnoses were retarded fetal growth (3.5%) and gestational diabetes (3.0%). It was observed that the share of children with pathological conditions was significantly higher in the group of those conceived by ART (92.2%) compared to the second group (84.1%) of children (p = 0.003). The diagnoses that predominated among the ART conceived after delivery were neonatal respiratory arrest (24.9%) and low birth weight (14.9%). Additionally, the mean birth weight was significantly lower in the group of children conceived by ART (2170.77 grams), in comparison to another group (2307.68 grams, p=0.015). Nevertheless, groups of neonates did not differ significantly in postnatal mortality (p = 1.00). Newborns conceived by ART are more likely to suffer from conditions that represent risk for factors for neurodevelopmental disorders. Neonatal respiratory arrest especially represents the risk for the neurodevelopmental disorders. The results of this research are consistent with other published studies, further research is needed to assess other risk factors associated with ART.

assisted reproductive technology ; techniques ; risk for neurodevelopmental disorders

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