Test-tube babies face heart threat
IVF method used to create thousands of children linked to high blood pressure and thickening arteries
CHILDREN born following intensive IVF treatment may have a greater risk of developing heart disease than those conceived naturally, scientists will say this week.
Fertility experts claim there is growing evidence that treatment in which high doses of powerful drugs are used to stimulate egg production can result in offspring with higher blood pressure and stiffer, thicker arteries than normal. That could raise their risk of heart attacks and strokes as adults.
This ‘high stimulation’ approach is commonly used by fertility clinics worldwide and thousands of IVF children are thought to have been born as a result of it.
However, new evidence is also emerging that this method doubles the risk of premature birth and raises the odds of low birthweight, compared to natural conception.
Another study, published in The Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, found a 45% increased risk of congenital heart defects in newborns when women become pregnant via in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) than through natural conception. The findings matter because babies who are premature or small have a greater chance of developing long-term health problems, including heart disease and type-2 diabetes.
The issues will be discussed this week at the annual conference of the International Society for Milder Approaches to Assisted Reproduction (ISMAAR) in London.
Last night, ISMAAR president Professor Geeta Nargund urged fertility clinics to take note, saying they had a responsibility to create healthy children.
Debate is raging about how much these problems result from parental infertility, and how much they are due to fertility treatment. But evidence is building that the harsh regimes many women endure to have a baby, are partially to blame.
These involve women being given high doses of follicle stimulating hormone’ (FSH) to spur their ovaries to release lots of eggs together rather than just one.
Studies show this often leads to poor quality eggs and wombs compromised by excessive levels of the hormone oestrogen, said Prof. Nargund. That in turn could affect the long-term health of the child.
Among the studies being highlighted is a Swiss project comparing heart and blood vessel health in 65 pre-school children born from fertility treatment, with 57 conceived naturally. It found those born via fertility treatment had ‘general-ised vascular dysfunction’ – including stiffer blood vessels and thickening of the carotid arteries that supply blood to the head.
Dr John Waterstone, medical director and fertility expert at the Waterstone Clinic in Cork, said IVF treatment itself does not cause a higher number of abnormalities in babies than those conceived naturally – but any abnormalities are more likely due to the genetics of parents involved. ‘I cannot imagine increased risks are as high as those,’ he added. ‘I’d be surprised by the magnitude of that [figure] and find it hard to accept.’ Dr Waterstone said he feared studies ‘which don’t reflect reality’ would ‘cause fear’ in parents of IVF babies and those trying to conceive.
Harsh regimes are partially to blame