Department of Pathophysiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, No. 416 Chengnan Dong Rd, Yuhua District, Changsha, 410007, People's Republic of China.
Eur J Pediatr. 2023 Mar;182(3):1289-1297. doi: 10.1007/s00431-022-04767-3. Epub 2023 Jan 13.
Assisted reproductive technologies (ART), including in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), are known to contribute a higher risk of birth defects; however, studies have rarely evaluated the association between IVF-ET and diagnostic hearing loss (HL). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for HL and to clarify the association between IVF-ET and HL among twinborn infants. We enrolled 1860 live-born twin neonates born at a hospital in China from January 2017 to December 2020. After multi-step hearing screening, participants were diagnosed with HL by pediatric audiologists at 6 months of age. The prevalence of hearing loss and the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for specific risk factors were estimated using generalized estimation equation (GEE) models in twin-born infants. Characteristics and prevalence of failure for hearing screening and HL were measured in IVF-ET twin infants. IVF-ET conception and preterm birth conferred a higher risk of hearing loss, with increased adjusted odds ratios (AOR [95% confidence intervals (CI)] IVF-ET: 2.82 [1.17-6.80], P = 0.021; preterm birth: 6.14 [2.30-16.40], P < 0.001) than the control group, respectively. Among the 1860 twin infants, more IVF-ET twins failed in dual-step hearing screening (3.26%) and were diagnosed with hearing loss (2.21%) than those conceived by spontaneous pregnancy.
IVF-ET conception and premature birth were associated with a higher risk of hearing impairment. Twin infants conceived by IVF-ET tended to fail in hearing screening and be diagnosed with hearing loss. These observations provide a more comprehensive approach for the prevention and management of deafness in twin-born children.
• IVF-ET technologies conferred a higher risk of birth defects.
• Premature birth and IVF-ET conception were associated with a higher risk of hearing loss among twin infants. • Twin infants conceived by IVF-ET tended to fail in hearing screening and diagnosed with hearing loss.
辅助生殖技术（ART），包括体外受精-胚胎移植（IVF-ET）和胞浆内单精子注射（ICSI），已知会增加出生缺陷的风险；然而，很少有研究评估 IVF-ET 与诊断性听力损失（HL）之间的关系。本研究旨在评估 HL 的患病率和危险因素，并阐明 IVF-ET 与双胞胎婴儿 HL 之间的关系。我们纳入了 2017 年 1 月至 2020 年 12 月在中国一家医院出生的 1860 例活产双胞胎新生儿。在经过多步听力筛查后，由儿科听力学家在 6 个月龄时诊断为 HL。使用广义估计方程（GEE）模型在双胞胎婴儿中估计听力损失的患病率和特定危险因素的调整比值比（AOR）。在 IVF-ET 双胞胎婴儿中测量听力筛查和 HL 失败的特征和发生率。
IVF-ET 受孕和早产使听力损失的风险增加，调整后的比值比（AOR[95%置信区间（CI）]IVF-ET：2.82[1.17-6.80]，P=0.021；早产：6.14[2.30-16.40]，P<0.001）高于对照组。在 1860 例双胞胎婴儿中，更多的 IVF-ET 双胞胎在双步听力筛查中失败（3.26%），并被诊断为听力损失（2.21%），而不是自然受孕的双胞胎。
IVF-ET 受孕和早产与听力障碍风险增加有关。通过 IVF-ET 受孕的双胞胎婴儿往往在听力筛查中失败并被诊断为听力损失。这些观察结果为预防和管理双胞胎儿童耳聋提供了更全面的方法。
