2015 Articles

Association of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment and parental infertility diagnosis with autism in ART-conceived children

Kissin, Dmitry M.; Zhang, Yujia; Boulet, Sheree L.; Fountain, Christine; Bearman, Peter Shawn; Schieve, Laura A.; Yeargin-Allsopp, Marshalyn; Jamieson, Denise J.

The use of assisted reproductive technology (ART), which includes all procedures that involve handling of oocytes and sperm or embryos outside of the human body, has been increasing steadily since it was first introduced in 1978. Over 5 million children conceived with ART have been born globally (Adamson et al., 2013). About 1.5% of all infants born in the USA are conceived using ART (Sunderam et al., 2013). The effect of ART procedures on the health and development of children has been an area of special interest for researchers during the last three decades. However, studying the long-term outcomes of ART is difficult in part due to rapid technological progress in this relatively new field of medicine. Remarkable advances in embryo culture, cryopreservation of embryos and oocytes, ICSI, preimplantation genetic testing, and assisted hatching have led to the development of new treatment options. The safety—including long-term safety—of these new treatments requires careful study.