IVF kids score better on academic tests
September 23rd, 2010 - 2:11 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Sept 23 (ANI): Children conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) actually perform better than age-and gender-matched peers on academic tests, a new study found.
The University of Iowa study found that children who were conceived by IVF actually scored better than their peers on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Iowa Test for Educational Development (ITBS/ED).
“Our findings are reassuring for clinicians and patients as they suggest that being conceived through IVF does not have any detrimental effects on a child’s intelligence or cognitive development,” said study’s lead author Bradley Van Voorhis.
For the study, Van Voorhis and colleagues compared the academic performance of 423 Iowa children, ages 8 to 17, who were conceived by IVF at UI Hospitals and Clinics with the performance of 372 age- and gender-matched peers from the same Iowa schools.
The researchers also analyzed whether different characteristics of the children, parents or IVF methods affected children’s test scores.
The study found that children born by IVF performed above average on standardized tests compared to their peers.
Importantly, the study also showed that different IVF procedures — using fresh versus frozen embryos — and different methods of insemination had no effect on children’s test scores.
Although the study was not able to fully explain why children conceived by IVF performed better than their peers, Van Voorhis speculated that parents of children conceive by IVF might be older and have higher levels of education than average.
“By using age- and gender-matched children from the same classrooms as a control group to compare to our study participants, we attempted to control for any socioeconomic or environmental differences between the children born by IVF and their peers,” Van Voorhis said.
“But there still may have been some differences between the IVF children and the controls that we could not see from our data,” he said.
The study was published in the October issue of the journal Human Reproduction. (ANI)
- IVF can make children taller, say scientists - Oct 14, 2010
- Rhythm helps kids master math problems - Mar 25, 2012
- IQ scores can't predict academic performances of autistic kids - Nov 18, 2010
- Fertility treatment can lead to male babies - Sep 29, 2010
- IVF cerebral palsy risks need serious consideration, say scientists - Nov 03, 2010
- Kids with epilepsy 'more likely to have psychiatric symptoms' - Mar 26, 2011
- Self-regulation can help at-risk children perform better at academics - Apr 28, 2010
- Gentle touch may help multiple sclerosis patients - Oct 15, 2009
- Text messaging 'boosts kids' spelling skills' - Jan 21, 2011
- Transcendental Meditation 'improves Math and English scores' - Mar 22, 2011
- First genetic test for predicting IVF success developed - Jan 16, 2011
- Children Raised By Lesbian Parents Show Less Behavioral Problems - Jun 08, 2010
- 16 years after son died, child born to elerly Haryana couple - Feb 29, 2012
- Stress, hectic lifestyle raises IVF demand - Sep 03, 2011
- Study shows mental decline in elderly is smaller than thought - Sep 14, 2010
Tags: academic performance, academic tests, clinicians, cognitive development, control group, detrimental effects, educational development, environmental differences, frozen embryos, insemination, iowa children, iowa schools, iowa study, iowa test of basic skills, ivf procedures, standardized tests, study participants, ui hospitals, van voorhis, vitro fertilization