IVF Treatment and Child Health Outcomes: A Data Linkage Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the Impact of Culture Media on IVF Treatment and Child Health Outcomes: A National Culture Media Questionnaire and HFEA Register Data Linkage Study
IRAS ID
178761
Contact name
Catherine Castillo
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
It has been established in the literature that in vitro fertilisation (IVF) conceived babies show differences in neonatal health outcomes when compared to naturally-conceived babies. However, no specific IVF laboratory or treatment factors have been identified as causal to these differences particularly in large enough patient samples. This study aims to examine the effects of various culture media (these are the gelatinous substances in which embryos are fertilised and cultivated during treatment) on IVF treatment pregnancy/live birth rates and the health of resulting babies. In order to collect information on culture media use throughout the UK, researchers at University College London have sent The National Culture Media Questionnaire (NatCMQ) to all licensed fertility clinics in the UK. Information describing the type of culture media (e.g., names and brands) used between January 2011 and December 2013 will be extracted from the NatCMQ and merged with routinely collected IVF treatment data held in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Register. The laboratory treatment and health outcome details (retrieved from the HFEA) will be linked by date of treatment and clinic site to culture medium usage details (extracted from the NatCMQ). The result will be a collated data set containing information regarding culture media use, laboratory-level procedures, and treatment outcomes to allow for the investigation of the impact of culture conditions on success rates and birth outcomes adjusted for known patient prognostic factors.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1213
Date of REC Opinion
7 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion