THURSDAY, June 18, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Subfecundity is associated with increased scores for symptoms of behavioral problems and higher odds of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis in offspring, independent of infertility treatment, according to a study published online June 8 in JAMA Network Open.
Linda G. Kahn, Ph.D., from the New York University Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues examined whether infertility treatment is associated with neurodevelopment in children aged 2 to 10 years in a cohort study conducted among mother-child dyads, with infants conceived between 1998 and 2022.
There were 14,191 unique maternal participants among 15,382 mother-infant dyads. Overall, ASD was diagnosed in 7.6 percent of offspring and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was diagnosed in 7.1 percent. The researchers found that subfecundity was associated with higher externalizing problem and Social Responsiveness Scale scores among all pregnancies (b = 0.47 and 1.08, respectively) and when restricted to natural conceptions (b = 0.45 and 1.12, respectively). The odds of ASD were higher for offspring of parents with subfecundity (odds ratios, 1.27 overall; 1.31 for natural conceptions). Higher odds of ADHD were seen for children conceived via non-in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment compared with those conceived via natural conception with subfecundity or without subfecundity (odds ratios, 1.77 and 1.54, respectively). No significant associations were seen for IVF treatment.
"This study contributes to the growing body of evidence indicating that infertility treatment itself is not independently associated with child neurodevelopment outcomes," Kahn said in a statement. "Rather, it appears that the parents' underlying fertility problems -- whether stemming from genetic, environmental, or other influences -- are likely driving these associations."
Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and nutrition industries.
