ESPE Abstracts

Background: Since its introduction in 1978, assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been widely used to treat infertility. Worldwide, over 8 million children have been conceived by ART. Literature suggests that ART-adolescents potentially display altered vascular function. However, data concerning the cardiometabolic impact on the vascular function in ART-adolescents is limited. This study aimed to investigate the effects of blood lipids and HbA1c-levels on the vascular function in ART-adolescents compared to spontaneously conceived peers.

Methods: For the present study, ART-adolescents and spontaneously conceived peers between the ages of 10 to 17 years were recruited. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure were recorded by an ambulatory blood pressure measuring device. In addition, the body mass index (BMI) was assessed. Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), lipoprotein a (Lp(a)) and HbA1c were evaluated after a fasting period of ≥4 hours. To compare continuous and normally distributed values between both groups, the unpaired t-test was applied. The Mann-Whitney-U-test was utilized to compare non-normally distributed values. The Pearson correlation was used for normally distributed and the Spearman correlation for non-normally distributed variables. A P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results: 20 ART-adolescents (female: 35.00%) and 30 spontaneously conceived controls (female: 40.00%) were included in the present study. Both groups did not differ significantly in age (12.50 (10.00-17.00) years vs. 12.00 (10.00-17.00) years, P=0.824). No significant differences in SBP, DBP, BMI, blood lipids and HbA1c were detected between the ART and control group. A LDL ≥130 mg/dL was present in 15% of ART-adolescents but in none of the control subjects. A Lp(a) ≥30 mg/dL was detected in 15% of ART-individuals and in 13.3% of spontaneously conceived peers. An HbA1c ≥5.7 % was shown in 20% of ART-adolescents and in 10% of controls. No significant correlation between blood pressure, BMI, blood lipids and HbA1c was observed.

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that LDL-hypercholesterinemia and pathological HbA1c-levels might be more present in ART-adolescents compared to spontaneously conceived peers. Vascular function, visualized by brachial blood pressure, did not differ significantly between both groups and did not correlate with cardiometabolic risk factors. As the examined ART-subjects of this study were relatively young, further research is required evaluating the cardiometabolic health and its potential impact on vascular function in larger adult ART-cohorts.