Children Born After Fertility Treatments are at High Risk of Developing Mental Disorders

A new study has found that children, born to women who had undergone fertility treatment, have high risk of developing psychiatric disorders. The "modest" risk, researchers say, continues well into adulthood.

"The small, but potentially increased risk of psychiatric disorders among the children born to women with fertility problems," said Dr Allan Jensen of the Danish Cancer Society Research Center at the University of Copenhagen, according to a news release.  However, this knowledge, he added, "should always be balanced against the physical and psychological benefits of a pregnancy."

The study was based on data derived from a register study of all children born in Denmark between 1969 and 2006. Researchers found that 124,384 out of a total 2,430,826 children born in Denmark were born to women with fertility problems. The children were followed for psychiatric disorders until 2009.

About 170,240 children were diagnosed with some mental disorder during the study period. Researchers said that children born to women with fertility problems had 33 percent higher risk of developing a psychiatric condition than other children.

A separate analysis was conducted to compare rates of psychiatric disorders diagnosed during childhood and in young adults. Researchers found that the rate of mental disorder didn't change drastically, meaning that increased risk continued into adulthood.

Researchers found an increase in the risk of developing schizophrenia, anxiety and even autism in children whose mothers had problems conceiving naturally. The team said that underlying genetic problems in the mother, rather than the fertility treatment might have caused the increase in mental disorder risk.

"The exact mechanisms behind the observed increase in risk are still unknown but it is generally believed that underlying infertility has a more important role in adverse effects in offspring than the treatment procedures," Jensen said, according to The Guardian.

The study findings were announced at the 30th Annual Meeting of ESHRE in Munich.