Abstract
Purpose
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the worldwide birth prevalence of total congenital malformations (CMs), major CMs, and specific CMs according to organs and systems classification associated with IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies.
Methods
Unrestricted searches were conducted, with an end-date parameter of 1 June 2017, of PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries, and Chinese databases, to identify cohort studies assessing CMs associated with IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies. The prevalence estimates were summarized and analyzed by meta-analysis.
Results
Thirty-four cohort studies comprising 159,021 IVF/ICSI and 6704,405 spontaneously conceived singleton pregnancies met the inclusion criteria. Among IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies, pooled estimates of total CMs and major CMs (per 10,000) were 484.3 (95% CI 363.8–641.9) and 475.8 (95% CI 304.9–735.2), respectively; for specific CMs, pooled estimates 13.04 (95% CI 9.90–17.18) for cleft lip and/or palate, 17.01 (95% CI 8.01–36.06) for eye, ear, face, and neck malformations, 16.51(95% CI 11.56–23.57) for nervous system malformations, 36.21 (95% CI 26.20–50.02) for chromosomal defects, 8.31 (95% CI 4.21–16.40) for respiratory system malformations, 38.01 (95% CI 24.06–60.00) for digestive system malformations, 110.25 (95% CI 66.92–181.12) for musculoskeletal system malformations, 108.92 (95% CI 68.73–172.21) for urogenital system malformations, and 77.20 (95% CI 53.25–111.80) for circulatory system malformations. The IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies compared with those conceived naturally experienced higher prevalence of total CMs, major CMs, and most specific CMs. Significant differences across continents, countries, types of assisted conception, and diagnose time of CMs were observed for total CMs birth prevalence among IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies.
Conclusions
The IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies were significantly associated with high birth prevalence of CMs, representing a major global health burden. Significant differences across continents, countries, types of ART, and diagnose time of CMs were found. However, it remains uncertain whether detected differences represent true or methodological differences. In the future, population wide prospective CMs’ registries covering the entire world population are needed to determine the exact birth prevalence.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the editors and reviewers for their suggestions. This study was supported by the Project Funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2015M572248), Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Plan Project (2015RS4055), and Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2016JJ4047).
Funding
This study was funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2015M572248), Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Plan Project (2015RS4055), and Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2016JJ4047).
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Conceived and designed the experiments: JBQ, LTC, and TBY. Analyzed the data: JBQ and LTC. Wrote the paper: LTC, JBQ, TBY, ZZ, HY, and HW. Data extraction and study quality assessment: JBQ, LTC, and TBY. Provided strategic advice throughout the study: JBQ, HY, and HW. Had full access to all the data in the study and took responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis: LTC, TBY, ZZ, HY, HW, and JBQ.
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Chen, L., Yang, T., Zheng, Z. et al. Birth prevalence of congenital malformations in singleton pregnancies resulting from in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Gynecol Obstet 297, 1115–1130 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-018-4712-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-018-4712-x