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Children born to ovarian hyperstimulated women may have impaired cardiac function
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The children of ovarian hyperstimulated mothers may be at increased risk of cardiovascular dysfunction, according to recent findings.
In the retrospective cohort study, researchers evaluated 42 healthy Chinese children born to women with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Thirty-four children were conceived through non-OHSS in vitro fertilization (IVF) and 48 were spontaneously conceived (SC); all were born between 2003 and 2007. Non-OHSS IVF and SC children were recruited from the same hospital and were matched for gestational age at delivery and birth weight. All children were aged 3 to 7 years.
The researchers utilized interviews and medical records to obtain baseline and assisted reproductive technology maternal characteristics of the mothers. Blood measures of basal sexual hormone levels were taken on day 3 of the assisted reproductive technology cycle. At the third trimester prenatal evaluation, blood levels of fasting glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were measured. CV ultrasound was used to evaluate endothelial function and arterial stiffness in children.
A separate proteomics analysis was also performed, utilizing umbilical cord samples for seven OHSS and seven normal pregnancies immediately after delivery.
The researchers found that offspring of the OHSS mothers demonstrated significantly reduced mitral peak/late ratio, decreased systolic and diastolic diameters of carotid arteries and diminished flow-mediated dilation vs. non-OHSS IVF and SC children. The three groups did not differ significantly in intima-media thickness or arterial stiffness parameters.
The proteomics analysis revealed 1,640 proteins identified in the OHSS and SC umbilical artery samples. The researchers chose 40 differently expressed proteins for upstream regulator analysis. This analysis determined that estradiol and progesterone were activated upstream regulators, suggesting that these unusually high estradiol and progesterone levels may be involved in the mechanism of cardiac dysfunction in the children.
“In the present study, we found that children born to ovarian hyperstimulated women showed markedly impaired cardiac diastolic dysfunction and endothelial function,” the researchers wrote. “Through iTRAQ analysis, we also observed the differences in the protein profile in umbilical artery between PHSS and SC groups, and, inferred the involvement of supraphysiological levels of estradiol and progesterone in children born to ovarian hyperstimulated women.”
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by the National Basic Research Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Public Welfare Technology Project of Zhejiang Province and the Talent Project of Zhejiang Province.
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