title: Is there an increased risk for drug treated attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children born after in vitro fertilization?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is mounting evidence that children born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) run an increased risk of neurological complications and notably cerebral palsy. Whether developmental disturbances occur more often than expected is debated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the risk for ADHD in children conceived after IVF.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children conceived after IVF and born between 1982 and 2005 were identified from all IVF clinics in Sweden. Children who developed attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were identified with the use of a register over all prescribed drugs in Sweden, using prescriptions for methylphenidate or atomixetine as indicators of ADHD. Maternal and neonatal characteristics were obtained by linkage with the Medical Birth Register and relevant confounders were adjusted for using Mantel-Haenszel procedures. We studied 28 158 children born after IVF and compared them with 2 417 886 children in the population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjustment for year of birth, maternal age, parity, smoking, BMI, and maternal education and after exclusion of women who did not cohabit, a weak but statistically significant association was found with an odds ratio=1.18, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.36. The effect was stronger in girls (OR=1.40) than boys (OR=1.11) but this difference could be random. After adjustment for length of involuntary childlessness, the OR decreased slightly and lost statistical significance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study suggests a weak association between IVF and drug treated ADHD.
authors.affiliation: Tornblad Institute, University of Lund, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden. bengt.kallen@med.lu.se
authors.forename: A J Bengt
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Källén
authors.forename: O Orvar
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Finnström
authors.forename: Anna P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Lindam
authors.forename: Emma M E
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Karl-Gösta
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Nygren
authors.forename: Petra M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Otterblad Olausson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult