Infertility treatments during pregnancy and the risk of autism Spectrum disorder in the offspring

Michael Davidovitch, Gabriel Chodick, Varda Shalev, Vered H. Eisenberg, Uzi Dan, Abraham Reichenberg, Sven Sandin, Stephen Z. Levine

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

We aimed to examine the effects of infertility treatments on the risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Data were from a representative national registry on 110,093 male live births in Israel (born: 1999–2008; and ASD: 975, 0.9%). Infertility treatments included In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), and five hormone treatments. Relative risk (RR) was estimated with multivariable logistic models. Results showed that IVF treatment compared with spontaneous conception was not statistically significantly associated with the risk of ASD. Only progesterone hormone treatment was associated with a statistically significant (p <.05) increased risk of ASD (RR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.22, 1.86) compared to the group with no progesterone treatment. In conclusion, progesterone exposure during the critical period of fetal life elevated the risk of ASD, possibly reflecting epigenetic modification.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)175-179
Number of pages5
JournalProgress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
Volume86
DOIs
StatePublished - 30 Aug 2018
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Inc.

Funding

This study was supported by Maccabi Healthcare research grant 45777 to author Levine at the University of Haifa , and in part by the Seaver Foundation ; Sven Sandin, PhD, is a Seaver Faculty Scholar. Levine has received research support, and/or consultancy fees and/or travel support from Shire, F. Hoffmann-La Roche and Eli Lilly, which are all unrelated to this research. Shalev and Chodick were funded by Maccabi Institute for Research and Innovation, Maccabi Healthcare Services, Tel Aviv Israel. Authors Davidovitch, Chodick, Shalev, Eisenberg and Dan are employees of Maccabi Healthcare Service. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest. This study was supported by Maccabi Healthcare research grant 45777 to author Levine at the University of Haifa, and in part by the Seaver Foundation; Sven Sandin, PhD, is a Seaver Faculty Scholar.

FundersFunder number
Maccabi Healthcare45777
Maccabi Institute for Research and Innovation
Seaver Foundation
Tel Aviv Israel
Beatrice and Samuel A. Seaver Foundation
University of Haifa
Maccabbi Healthcare Services

    Keywords

    • Autism Spectrum disorders
    • Epidemiology
    • Hormone
    • Infertility

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