Cognitive development of singletons conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection or in vitro fertilization at age 5 and 10 years.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the cognitive functioning of low-risk singletons born after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) at the age of 5 or 10 years.


METHODS
Sixty-nine children (35 ICSI, 34 IVF) participated voluntarily in the study that had been approved by the local IRB. Their intellectual functioning was examined by the Kaufmann Assessment Battery for Children.


RESULTS
The IQ of the study group fell in the normal range (mean = 98.2; SD = 12.2). ICSI children (IQ = 94.1, SD = 13.8) had statistically lower intellectual abilities compared to IVF children (IQ = 102.0, SD = 9.1; t = -2.81, p = .005), especially in simultaneous mental processing. 23.5% ICSI children, but only 2.9% IVF children (p = .011) had at least borderline delayed cognitive development.


CONCLUSIONS
Most artificially conceived singletons show a normal cognitive development, however the method of fertilization seems to have an impact on their IQ. ICSI might be associated with the risk for a slightly delayed cognitive development compared to IVF.
Goldbeck
Lutz
L
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, University Ulm, Ulm, Germany. lutz.goldbeck@uniklinik-ulm.de
Gagsteiger
Friedrich
F
Mindermann
Inge
I
Ströbele
Stefanie
S
Izat
Yonca
Y
D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D012307:Risk Factors; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data