The Upstate KIDS Study aims to determine if there are differences in health measures between children conceived by infertility treatment and children conceived naturally. In the first phase of the study, the focus was on growth and development through age 3 years. In the second phase of the study, the focus is turning to cardiometabolic factors through age 9 years. Infertility treatments include assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and ovulation induction (OI). The study was originally designed as a matched exposure cohort. Specifically, singletons whose birth certificates indicated the use of infertility treatment were considered 'exposed' singleton infants and subsequently frequency-matched on perinatal region of birth at a ratio of 1:3 to 'unexposed' singletons. Twins and higher order multiples were invited to participate regardless of mode of conception. Mothers and their newborns were recruited approximately 2-4 months postpartum. The first phase of the study was completed in 2014 and main findings can be found under publications.
The second phase objectives are:
To determine whether infertility treatment is associated with differences in growth and development from age 6 to 8 years with particular focus on childhood cardio-metabolic outcomes by follow-up of children conceived by ART or other infertility treatments and children who were conceived without treatment. Secondarily, to assess epigenetic differences as measured by DNA methylation using collected biospecimens.
