Comparing subjective indicators of health in adults aged 27-38 years conceived with and without assisted reproductive technology.

Research question: What are the health outcomes of individuals aged 27-38 years conceived with and without assisted reproductive technology (ART)?

Design: An online survey, hosted in REDCap, was used to collect information on self-reported physical, psychological and reproductive health from an established cohort of people conceived with and without ART who were now aged 27-38 years. Questions included lists of common conditions and required tick-box responses to determine prevalence. A validated scale was used to assess psychological well-being.

Results: There were 313 ART-conceived (236 IVF and 77 gamete intrafallopian transfer [GIFT]) and 153 non-ART conceived respondents. No marked differences between the ART and non-ART groups were observed in physical or psychological health measures. Similar proportions in both groups had had children and reported using medically assisted reproduction to conceive. More women in the ART than the non-ART group reported at least one reproductive health disorder (P = 0.01). Male reproductive health disorders were rare in both groups.

Conclusions: Subjective indicators of health were no different between ART- and non-ART-conceived individuals, except for a slight increase in adverse reproductive health disorders reported by ART-conceived female participants. This warrants closer clinical scrutiny. Overall, a larger sample and objective measures in individuals beyond 30 years of age would provide the ultimate reassurance that ART is not associated with long-term health problems. This study is the first of its kind and may provide some reassurance of safety for people conceived with ART and those who contemplate using it.