Abstract
Introduction: Pregnancies resulting from fertility treatments are at higher risk of placenta-mediated complications. Hence, we aimed to estimate the association between fertility treatment and levels of first-trimester markers of placentation.
Methods: We conducted a cohort study in an academic center from 03/2011 to 12/2014. Adult nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies were recruited between 11 (+) (0) and 13 (+) (6) weeks of gestation. Data on maternal characteristics, medical history, and pregnancies conceived through fertility treatments (whether ovulation agents, insemination or assisted reproductive technologies) were collected. Maternal serum concentrations of PlGF, sFlt-1, PAPP-A, AFP, and free beta-hCG were obtained, and notches and UtA-PI were measured using Doppler ultrasound. Mean Multiple of the Medians (MoM) and frequencies were computed to estimate the mean differences (MD) or risk ratios (RR) comparing fertility treatment to spontaneous pregnancies.
Results: 427 (9%) pregnancies out of 4815 were conceived through fertility treatments, using ovulation agents (n = 233, 5%), insemination (n = 174, 4%) and/or assisted reproductive technologies (n = 85, 2%). The latter were associated with significantly lower log(10)PAPP-A MoM (adjusted MD: -0.02, 95% CI: -0.04 to -0.01), lower log(10)PlGF MoM (adjusted MD: -0.04, 95% CI: -0.06 to -0.01) and higher log(10)free beta-hCG MoM (adjusted MD: 0.05, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.09) compared to spontaneous pregnancies. Ovulation agents and insemination were associated with the presence of notches (adjusted RR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.35; and 1.27, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.42, respectively) and higher log(10)UtA-PI MoM (adjusted MD: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.24; and 0.17, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.27, respectively) than spontaneous pregnancies.
Conclusion: Fertility treatments are associated with significant variations in markers of placentation.