Kardiovaskuläre und metabolische Gesundheit der Jugendlichen in der ICSI-Follow-up-Studie

Ever more data are available on the development of children born using assisted reproductive technologies. Previous studies focused on course of pregnancy, neonatal outcome and development during the first years of life. Later studies added data on pubertal development. A question that remains open and inconclusively answered is that of the cardiometabolic health of these children. It is possible that epigenetic factors resulting from the in vitro manipulation of gametes and embryonic development may have an effect on cardiometabolic health. This publication describes data from the German intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) follow-up study. In this study, children were prospectively included during pregnancy (up to the 16th week of gestation). This time, children were examined at a mean age of around 16 years. The data of 275 children born following ICSI were compared with 273 controls. Data from a physical examination as well as laboratory data from children and their mothers were investigated with regard to lipid and glucose–insulin metabolism. Data from mothers, fathers and children were also collected using standardized questionnaires. After adjustment for parental risk factors, the differences in the analyzed parameters disappeared or were reduced, and no clinically relevant differences were found between the study and control cohort. However, since observations in this age group can be made mainly on the basis of surrogate parameters for cardiometabolic health rather than clinical endpoints, further study in older age groups is necessary.