What hinders fertility in men and women?
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(CNN) --
If you're one of the millions of women who plan to turn to infertility treatments to have a baby, consider that new research has found that women may be at increased risk of vascular and pregnancy-related complications, especially if they are 35 or older.
"Advancing maternal age, specifically being 35 or older, increases the risk of suffering from or developing conditions, such as chronic high blood pressure, that increase the risk of pregnancy complications," the study author said in a statement. , Dr. Pensée Wu, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Obstetrician and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Subspecialist at Keele University School of Medicine, Staffordshire, UK.
There is no link between covid-19 vaccines and infertility.
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The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, compared more than 106,000 births in which the baby was conceived with assisted reproductive technology with more than 34 million births conceived without it.
Women who underwent infertility treatment had more pre-existing health problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and were more likely to be obese when they started treatment, according to the study.
Women who used assisted reproductive technology to get pregnant had a 2.5 times higher risk of acute kidney failure and a 65% higher risk of irregular heartbeat.
They also had a 57% increased risk of placental abruption, which happens when the placenta separates from the inner wall of the uterus before birth.
The women were also 38% more likely to need a cesarean delivery and 26% more likely to have the baby delivered prematurely.
One limitation of the study was that it didn't compare different fertility treatments, which is an "important distinction," Dr. Sigal Klipstein, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist in Chicago, said by email.
She did not participate in the study.
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"A woman who required a short course of fertility pills in order to conceive and a woman who required multiple cycles of IVF (in vitro fertilization) were all pooled in this study," said Klipstein, a liaison member of the Ethics Committee. of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
"There may be significant differences between the groups based on the type of fertility treatment, the duration of treatment, and the time between treatment and conception," he said.
The study also found that women who underwent fertility treatment were at increased risk even when they had no pre-existing symptoms of heart disease.
"We were surprised that assisted reproductive technology was independently associated with these complications, rather than being associated only with preexisting health conditions or only among older women undergoing infertility treatment," Wu said. .
This finding did not surprise Klipstein.
"It is often the underlying infertility, and not the fertility treatment, that is associated with poorer outcomes."
Klipstein pointed to PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, a common hormonal disorder in women, as an example.
It is one of the main causes of infertility and also carries an increased risk of cardiovascular disease throughout life.
Women with PCOS are seven times more likely to have a heart attack, she says.
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"According to the current study, 1 in 5 women enter pregnancy with a history of cardiovascular risk factors," Klipstein said, which may increase a woman's health risks during pregnancy and when she gives birth to her child. .
In her opinion, Klipstein said the study's main message is the need for women to address any risk factors for heart disease before becoming pregnant, if possible.
Women can focus on losing weight, lowering high blood pressure and controlling cholesterol, she said.
"The take-home message is that clinicians should counsel all women with pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors who may become pregnant about the risks related to pregnancy, whether or not they have a history of infertility," he added.
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