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

Keywords

  • Autism Spectrum disorders
  • Epidemiology
  • Hormone
  • Infertility

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