Reproductive technologies and the risk of congenital heart defects

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has become widespread, accounting for similar to 2% of all births worldwide, with a similar proportion in Japan. Our goal was to determine whether ART is associated with an increased risk of congenital heart defect (CHD). The study subjects were 2716 pregnant women (2317 in a spontaneous conception [SC] group and 399 in an assisted conception [AC] group). Of patients in the AC group, 142 were treated with ovulation-inducing agents (OIAs), 56 with artificial insemination by the husband (AIH), 159 with in vitro fertilization (IVF), and 42 with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). CHD screening on the fetus or newborn was performed using two-dimensional echocardiography. Severe CHD was defined as requiring surgical treatment, or leading to death within one year. There were 2746 births (one of 31 twins was a still birth), 410 resulted from AC and within this group, 111 cases of CHD were found (AC group, 17 [4.1%]; SC group, 94 [4.0%]). Five cases of severe CHD were found in the AC group and 19 in the SC group, with no significant difference between the groups (p=0.892). In conclusion, there was no evidence of increased CHD risk associated with ART treatment.