Evaluation of the Prevalence of Asthma in a Cohort of Children Born After IVF (Aged 11-15) Compared With a Control Group

Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART) are increasingly being used worldwide as a result of fertility decline likely caused by changes in both environment and social behaviour. Considering this large usage, it is important to evaluate the potential risk on the health of children conceived using ART. According to the literature, children born after ART are more likely to be at higher risk of health problems than spontaneously conceived ones. Interestingly, recent studies suggested an increase of asthma prevalence in children conceived using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of asthma in school adolescents from a cohort of children born after In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), aged 11-15 years as compared to a control group composed of the same age range spontaneously conceived individuals. The expected outcome of this study will provide new information regarding these children to ART professionals of and to their own families, by focusing on an age range (between 11 and 15 years) for which very little information is available to date.