Abstract
Infertile couples make up approximately 10% of the worldwide population, and around
1% of current live births are a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART).
Since the time that this technology was first applied, many studies have been performed
in order to determine the risk associated with infertility treatments. Short- and
long-term risks have been identified, which confirm that the major complications are
due to multiple pregnancies. In a previous study we described in detail the main reproductive
processes, the techniques for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the risks associated with each of them, with a focus on intracytoplasmic
sperm injection (ICSI). In this review we provide an update from 2007 to the present.
In particular, in addition to new information on post-pregnancy complications and
infant morbidity and malformations, we report data on rare syndromes, including recent
case reports. Although data are controversial, an association between IVF and a minor
increase in the incidence of birth defects has been confirmed. Several lines of evidence
also suggest that there may be a link between ART and psychological disorders in the
parents and the child. Finally, recent findings draw attention to the need for accurate
clinical and psychological counselling of couples before any treatment decisions are
made.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive BiologyAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- In vitro fertilization: past and future.Ann Biol Clin (Paris). 1987; 45: 321-329
- In vitro fertilization.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge1997
- Pregnancies after intracytoplasmic sperm injection of a single spermatozoon into an oocyte.Lancet. 1992; 340: 17-18
- The impact of in vitro fertilization on the health of the mother and the offspring.Curr Woman's Health Rev. 2006; 2: 239-247
- Immunodetection of benzo[a]pyrene adducts in ovarian cells of women exposed to cigarette smoke.Mol Hum Reprod. 1998; 4: 159-165
- Detection of benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide-DNA adducts in sperm of men exposed to cigarette smoke.Fertil Steril. 1999; 72: 330-335
- DNA damage to spermatozoa has impacts on fertilization and pregnancy.Cell Tissue Res. 2005; 322: 33-41
- DNA methylation and gene expression differences in children conceived in vitro or in vivo.Hum Mol Genet. 2009; 18: 3769-3778
- Reactive oxygen species: potential cause for DNA fragmentation in human spermatozoa.Hum Reprod. 1998; 13: 896-900
- Sperm deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation is increased in poor-quality semen samples and correlates with failed fertilization in intracytoplasmic sperm injection.Fertil Steril. 1998; 69: 528-532
- Expression profile of genes coding for DNA repair in human oocytes using pangenomic microarrays, with a special focus on ROS linked decays.J Assist Reprod Genet. 2007; 24: 513-520
- DNA repair in mammalian embryos.Mutat Res. 2007; 635: 53-77
- Expression profiling of DNA repair genes in human oocytes and blastocysts using microarrays.Hum Reprod. 2009; 24: 2649-2655
- Long-term effects of mouse intracytoplasmic sperm injection with DNA-fragmented sperm on health and behavior of adult offspring.Biol Reprod. 2008; 78: 761-772
- Long-term health implications for children conceived by IVF/ICSI.Hum Fertil (Camb). 2009; 12: 21-27
- Factors associated with assisted reproduction technologies and neonatal outcomes.An Pediatr (Barc). 2009; 70: 323-332
- Chromosomal abnormalities in miscarriages after different assisted reproduction procedures.Placenta. 2008; 29: 126-128
- Assisted reproductive technology may increase clinical mutation detection in male offspring.Fertil Steril. 2008; 90: 92-96
- Malformation rate and sex ratio in 412 children conceived with epididymal or testicular sperm.Hum Reprod. 2007; 22: 1080-1085
- Assisted reproductive technology and major structural birth defects in the United States.Hum Reprod. 2009; 24: 360-366
- Abnormal vessel morphology in boys born after intracytoplasmic sperm injection.Acta Paediatr. 2008; 97: 1512-1517
- Heart defects and other anomalies in fetuses conceived by assisted reproduction techniques.Ginekol Pol. 2007; 78: 865-868
- Neonatal outcome of 937 children born after transfer of cryopreserved embryos obtained by ICSI and IVF and comparison with outcome data of fresh ICSI and IVF cycles.Hum Reprod. 2008; 23: 2227-2238
- 8q deletion in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma of a child born from assisted reproductive technology.J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2009; 31: 215-219
- Conjoined twins in a triplet pregnancy after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and blastocyst transfer: case report and review of the literature.Fertil Steril. 2009; 91 (933 e9–12)
- Two-year auxological and medical outcome of singletons born after embryo biopsy applied in preimplantation genetic diagnosis or preimplantation genetic screening.Hum Reprod. 2009; 24: 470-476
- Multiple orofacial malformations in a boy who was conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection.J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2009; 62: e298-e300
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with transmission of a ring(Y) chromosome and ovotesticular disorder of sex development in offspring.Am J Med Genet A. 2008; 146A: 1828-1831
- Chromosome abnormalities and Yq microdeletions in infertile Italian couples referred for assisted reproductive technique.Sex Dev. 2007; 1: 347-352
- Physical health at 5.5 years of age of term-born singletons after intracytoplasmic sperm injection: results of a prospective, controlled, single-blinded study.Fertil Steril. 2009; 91: 115-124
- Association of assisted reproductive technology with twinning and congenital anomalies.Indian J Pediatr. 2008; 75: 638-640
- Umbilical cord anomalies are more frequent in twins after assisted reproduction.Hum Reprod. 2007; 22: 2763-2767
- DOOR (deafness, onychodystrophy, osteodystrophy, mental retardation) syndrome in one of the twins after conception with intracytoplasmic sperm injection.Am J Med Genet A. 2008; 146A: 1483-1485
- Risk factors for congenital cryptorchidism in a prospective birth cohort study.PLoS One. 2008; 3: e3051
- Reproduction abnormalities and twin pregnancies in parents of sporadic patients with oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum/Goldenhar syndrome.Hum Genet. 2007; 21: 369-376
- Antenatal detection of Meckel–Gruber syndrome in only one dizygotic twin following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer.Gynecol Obstet Invest. 1997; 43: 142-144
- Prenatal diagnosis of Meckel–Gruber syndrome in a pregnancy obtained with ICSI.J Assist Reprod Genet. 2006; 23: 281-283
- Depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and early parenthood following assisted reproductive technology.Fertil Steril. 2009; 91: 851-857
- Psychological aspects of in vitro fertilization: a review.Soc Sci Med. 1999; 48: 575-589
- Women's emotional adjustment to IVF: a systematic review of 25 years of research.Hum Reprod Update. 2007; 13: 27-36
- Infertility treatment and marital relationships: a 1-year prospective study among successfully treated ART couples and their controls.Hum Reprod. 2007; 22: 1481-1491
- Psychological characteristics and marital quality of infertile women registered for in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection in China.Fertil Steril. 2007; 87: 792-798
- Neuromotor, cognitive, language and behavioural outcome in children born following IVF or ICSI-a systematic review.Hum Reprod Update. 2008; 14: 219-231
- Follow-up of cognitive and motor development of 10-year-old singleton children born after ICSI compared with spontaneously conceived children.Hum Reprod. 2008; 23: 105-111
- An overview of studies on early development, cognition, and psychosocial well-being in children born after in vitro fertilization.J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2008; 29: 219-230
- Socio-emotional and language development of 2-year-old children born after PGD/PGS, and parental well-being.Hum Reprod. 2008; 23: 1849-1857
- The development of children from assisted reproduction—a review of the literature.Prax Kinderpsychol Kinderpsychiatr. 2008; 57: 264-281
- Psychological assessment of mothers and their assisted reproduction triplets at age 3 years.Reprod Biomed Online. 2007; 15: 13-17
- Hum Reprod. 2007; 22: 2896-2902
- Bayle B L’embryon Sur Le Divan—Psychopathologie De La Conception Humaine. Elsevier/Masson, France2003
- Predictors of psychological distress in patients starting IVF treatment: infertility-specific versus general psychological characteristics.Hum Reprod. 2010; 25: 1471-1480
- An update of assisted reproductive technologies results in the United States.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008; 1127: 41-48
- Risk of major congenital malformations associated with infertility and its treatment by extent of iatrogenic intervention.Pediatr Endocrinol Rev. 2007; 4: 352-357
- Growth and development of children born after in vitro fertilization.Fertil Steril. 2008; 90: 1662-1673
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 01, 2010
Accepted:
October 13,
2010
Received in revised form:
September 6,
2010
Received:
April 8,
2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
