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Method of conception shows no effect on early eye development
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In vitro fertilization appears to have no effect on early eye development for infants carried to full term, according to a study by researchers in Israel. However, a subset of smaller infants conceived by in vitro fertilization had steeper corneal curvatures and greater central corneal thicknesses, which may reflect delayed corneal maturation, the study authors said.
To evaluate the effects of in vitro fertilization (IVF) on early eye growth, Ruth Axer-Siegel, MD, and colleagues in Israel performed a case-control study involving 132 eyes of 66 infants. Of these infants, 32 were conceived by IVF and 34 were conceived naturally.
Researchers found no significant differences between the groups in terms of gender, gestational age, head circumference, IOP, axial length, anterior chamber depth and lens thickness, according to the study.
However, infants conceived via IVF had lower birth weights and shorter body lengths compared with infants conceived naturally (P = .032), the authors noted.
Additionally, IVF-conceived infants had greater keratometries and pachymetries. "[But] when birth weight and length were controlled, this difference remained statistically significant only for infants with a birth weight of less than 3,000 g and a body length of less than 48.5 cm," they said.
The study is published in the December issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.