Background Previous research has documented that children conceived through medically assisted reproduction (MAR) are at increased risk of poor birth outcomes, such as low birthweight (LBW), which are risk factors for stunted longer-term cognitive development. However, parents who undergo MAR to conceive have, on average, advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds which could compensate for the negative effects of being born LBW. Previous studies have not analysed whether the negative effects of LBW are attenuated among MAR conceived children. Methods We draw on the UK Millennium Cohort Study (sweeps 1–6) which contains a sub-sample of (N = 396) MAR-conceived children. The dependent variable measures cognitive ability at around ages 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14. We examine the cognitive development of four groups of children: MAR-conceived low birthweight (MAR LBW); MAR-conceived non-low birthweight (MAR NLBW); naturally conceived low birthweight (NC LBW); naturally conceived non-low birthweight (NC NLBW). We estimate the two following linear regression models for each sweep: (i) a baseline model to examine the unadjusted association between cognitive development and low birthweight by mode of conception; and (ii) a model adjusted by socio-demographic family characteristics. Results In baseline models, MAR LBW children [age 3: β = 0.021, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.198, 0.241; age 5: β = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.009, 0.418; age 7: β = 0.163, 95% CI: -0.148, 0.474; age 11: β = 0.003, 95% CI: -0.318, 0.325; age 14: β = 0.156, 95% CI: -0.205, 0.517], on average perform similarly in cognitive ability relative to NC NLBW at all ages, and display higher cognitive scores than NC LBW children until age 7. When we account for family characteristics, differences are largely attenuated and become close to zero at age 14. Conclusions Despite the higher incidence of LBW among MAR compared with NC children, they do not seem to experience any disadvantage in their cognitive development compared with naturally conceived children. This finding is likely explained by the fact that, on average, MAR children are born to socioeconomically advantaged parents.

中文翻译：

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医学辅助生殖后出生的低出生体重儿童从儿童期到青春期的认知发展——一项英国纵向队列研究

背景 先前的研究表明，通过医学辅助生殖 (MAR) 受孕的儿童出现不良出生结局的风险增加，例如低出生体重 (LBW)，这是长期认知发育迟缓的危险因素。然而，接受 MAR 怀孕的父母平均而言具有优越的社会经济背景，可以弥补出生 LBW 的负面影响。以前的研究没有分析 LBW 的负面影响是否在 MAR 受孕儿童中减弱。方法 我们借鉴了英国千年队列研究（扫描 1-6），其中包含 (N = 396) 个 MAR 受孕儿童的子样本。因变量测量 3、5、7、11 和 14 岁左右的认知能力。我们检查了四组儿童的认知发展：MAR 受孕的低出生体重（MAR LBW）；MAR 怀孕的非低出生体重 (MAR NLBW)；自然受孕的低出生体重（NC LBW）；自然受孕的非低出生体重 (NC NLBW)。我们为每次扫描估计以下两个线性回归模型：（i）一个基线模型，用于通过受孕模式检查认知发展与低出生体重之间的未经调整的关联；(ii) 根据社会人口家庭特征调整的模型。结果 在基线模型中，MAR LBW 儿童 [3 岁：β = 0.021，95% 置信区间 (CI)：-0.198，0.241；5 岁：β = 0.21，95% CI：0.009，0.418；7 岁：β = 0.163，95% CI：-0.148，0.474；11 岁：β = 0.003，95% CI：-0.318，0.325；14 岁：β = 0.156, 95% CI：-0.205, 0.517]，相对于所有年龄段的 NC NLBW，平均认知能力表现相似，并且在 7 岁之前表现出比 NC LBW 儿童更高的认知分数。当我们考虑到家庭特征时，差异在很大程度上减弱并在 14 岁时接近于零。结论 尽管与 NC 儿童相比，MAR 的 LBW 发生率更高，但他们并没有与自然受孕的孩子相比，他们的认知发展似乎有任何劣势。这一发现可能是因为平均而言，MAR 孩子出生于社会经济条件优越的父母。与自然受孕的孩子相比，他们的认知发展似乎没有任何劣势。这一发现可能是因为平均而言，MAR 孩子出生于社会经济条件优越的父母。与自然受孕的孩子相比，他们的认知发展似乎没有任何劣势。这一发现可能是因为平均而言，MAR 孩子出生于社会经济条件优越的父母。