title: Modern obstetrical and infertility care may increase the prevalence of disease: an evolutionary concept.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the hypothesis that the increasing prevalence of some polygenetically inherited conditions, may, to a degree, be the consequence of treatment successes of modern health care that have overcome evolutionary blocks to reproductive success.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hypothesis, based on a selective review of the literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  University-affiliated private infertility center. Patient(s)None.
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  METHODS
  Occurrence of polygenetically inherited diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Successfully treated evolutionary blocks to the inheritance of polygenetically inherited diseases result in an increased prevalence of these diseases in subsequent generations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evolutionary processes have erected barriers to successful reproduction for many polygenetically inherited diseases, which are now overcome by successful treatment, leading to an increased prevalence, younger age of occurrence, and greater severity of these diseases in next generation offspring.
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Reproduction, New York, New York, USA. chrjournal@aol.com
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gleicher
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000592:standards*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence