QOL Advantages in Young Adulthood for Those Conceived Through ART

WEDNESDAY, March 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Being conceived via assisted reproductive technology (ART) can confer advantages in terms of quality of life in young adulthood, according to a study published online March 23 in Human Fertility.

Karin Hammarberg, Ph.D., from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues examined the contributions of being conceived with ART and psychosocial cofactors present in young adulthood on the quality of life of adults aged 22 to 35 years. Young adults conceived through ART or natural conception (NC) completed questionnaires, including the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief assessment (WHOQoL-BREF) at age 18 to 28 years (T1) and 22 to 35 years (T2). Questionnaires were completed by 193 ART-conceived and 86 NC-conceived individuals.

The researchers found that being ART conceived was strongly associated with higher scores on the social relationships and environmental WHOQoL-BREF domains at T2 after accounting for other cofactors in multivariable analyses. There was an association observed for less psychological distress, a better relationship with parents, a better financial situation, and perceptions of being about the right weight at T1 with higher scores on one or more domains of WHOQoL-BREF at T2.

“Our findings suggest that being ART-conceived can provide some advantages on quality of life in adulthood, independent of other psychosocial factors,” Hammarberg said in a statement. “Together with previous evidence that adults conceived by ART have similar physical health to those who were naturally conceived, this is reassuring for people who were conceived with ART — and those who need ART to conceive.”

Abstract/Full Text