IVF kids may have higher risk of high blood pressure

KIDS BORN through in vitro fertilisation may be more likely to develop high blood pressure, a new study suggests.

Researchers found a higher average blood pressure among teens born through IVF than in children conceived naturally, according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Moreover, teens born through IVF were more likely to have blood pressures high enough to be diagnosed with hypertension.

The researchers advise parents of children conceived with IVF to concentrate on other heart disease risk factors.

“Eliminate additional cardiovascular risk factors, such as overweight, sedentary lifestyle and smoking,” suggests coauthor Dr Urs Scherrer of the University of Bern, Switzerland. Also, he recommends, get a 24hour blood pressure reading when the children are between ages 16 and 20.

Scherrer and colleagues compared 54 teens conceived through IVF with 43 of their friends who had been conceived naturally. The teens’ average age was 17.

In adults, a blood pressure above 120/80 is considered high. But in children and adolescents, a normal blood pressure depends on age and height. If a youngster has a higher blood pressure than 90 per cent to 95 per cent of other males or females his or her age and height, then the child may have high blood pressure.

The IVF teens had higher blood pressure, on average, than their friends (119/71 versus 115/69). Eight of the IVF teens were diagnosed with hypertension, compared to one in the control group.

Five years earlier, researchers had checked blood pressures in both groups and found no difference between IVF teens and their friends. “Until adolescence there are no cardiovascular problems,” Scherrer said by email.