A higher risk of psychiatric disorders found in children born to women with fertility problems
results in a large population study
children born to women with fertility problems have a higher risk of psychiatric disorders than children conceived naturally. The increased risk was described as "modest" by researchers from Denmark, but was found to persist throughout childhood and into adulthood.
The results, presented today at the 30th annual meeting of ESHRE in Munich by Dr. Allan Jensen from the Danish Centre for Research Cancer Society at the University of Copenhagen, were drawn from a register of all children born in Denmark to study between 1969 and 06.
of a grand total of 2,430,826 children, 124.384 (5%) were born to women with fertility problems and recorded 2,306,442 children ( 95%) for women without these problems. All children were followed for psychiatric disorders through 09.
During the follow-up period (median of about 20 years), 170.240 children were hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder. Those born to women with fertility problems have been found to have an overall risk of 33% highest of all psychiatric disorders defined, which was statistically significant (HR 1.33, 95% confidence interval 1, 20 to 1.36).
statistically significant risk ratios for specific groups of psychiatric disorders have been found for schizophrenia and psychoses (1.27, 1.16 to 1.38), affective disorders (1.32, 1 25 to 1:39), anxiety and other neurotic disorders (1.37, 1.32 to 1.42), mental and behavioral syndromes, including eating disorders (1.13, 01.04 to 01.24) mental retardation (1.28, 1.17 to 1.40), mental development disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (1.22, 1.16-1.28), and behavioral and emotional disorders, including deficit disorder attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (1.40, 1.34 -1.46) compared with rates among children conceived naturally.
when separate analyzes were performed for psychiatric disorders diagnosed in childhood (0-19 years) and young adults (20 and over), the investigators found that the risk estimates are not significantly changed, indicating that the increased risks persist into adulthood.
Commenting on the results, Dr. Jensen said that the professionals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of women with fertility problems should be aware of "the small but potentially increased risk of psychiatric disorders in children born to women with fertility problems. "However, this knowledge, he added," should always be weighed against the physical and psychological benefits of pregnancy. "
Only a few studies have . studied the risk of psychiatric disorders in children born after fertility treatment Although the results of most of these studies did not find an increased risk, the results indicate significant variation, Dr. Jensen said, this can perhaps because of the limited size and time tracking in most of them. This is the first study in sufficient number and a sufficiently long follow-up period to allow a realistic assessment of risk models in adulthood
A calculation made by Dr. Jensen -. Based on 33% overall increased risk of psychiatric disorders in children born to women with fertility problems and on the proportion of children born in Denmark after fertility treatment - suggests that 1.9% of all psychiatric disorders diagnosed in Denmark are associated with infertility mother. "For me," said Dr. Jensen, "this figure supports our interpretation of the results. - That increased risk is real but modest"
Despite the size of the study, it has not been able to establish whether the increased risk was associated with infertility-related factors (genetic or biological) mother or treatment. "Thus, the exact mechanisms behind the observed increase in risk are still unknown," said Dr. Jensen, "but it is generally accepted that infertility underlying has a more important role in adverse effects in offspring the processing procedures. It is known, for example, that psychiatric disorders to some extent have a genetic component. It may be likely that these genes damaged encoding psychiatric illness are overrepresented among women with fertility problems, and, if transferred to their offspring, this may at least partly explain the increased risk of psychiatric illness. "
However, Dr. Jensen noted that other results of long-term cohort studies are scarce and inconsistent, but generally do not show strong associations between infertility, fertility treatment and the risk of psychiatric disorders. However, "said Dr. Jensen," Our study is the largest to date. It includes the largest number of children and quite a long time proper monitoring to assess the risk in adulthood. "
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