Objective
In 2013, 1.7% of births in the United States were the result of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Identifying children born from infertility treatments using vital records would help clarify the etiology of adverse perinatal outcomes on a population basis. Data from the National Survey of Family Growth indicate that infertility services used include ovulation drugs (5.8%), artificial insemination (1.7%), and IVF (0.7%). The 2003 revision of the US Certificate of Live Birth includes 3 questions regarding the use of infertility treatments: 1) pregnancy resulted from infertility treatment; 2) fertility-enhancing drugs, artificial insemination, or intrauterine insemination; and 3) assisted reproductive technology (eg, IVF, gamete intrafallopian transfer). As part of a larger study evaluating IVF and the risk of childhood cancer (National Institutes of Health grant R01 CA151973), we evaluated the accuracy of infertility treatment and IVF reported on the birth certificate.
Study Design
IVF cycles from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Online Reporting System (SART CORS), which includes more than 95% of all IVF cycles performed in the United States, were linked to certificates of live birth in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania (2004–2009 births), Texas (2005–2009 births), California and Ohio (2006–2009 births), and Colorado (2007–2009 births) (IVF children). Redshift Technologies, Inc (who maintains the SART CORS for the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology) sent a file to each of the 8 study states that included the following: woman’s name, social security number, date of birth, ZIP code, date of delivery, plurality, sex(es), and birthweight(s); using these identifiers, the linkage rate was > 95%. All other live births to the same woman were also identified (IVF siblings). As part of the primary study, a 10:1 sample of control deliveries (deliveries in which the mother was not in the SART CORS database) was selected by the same states and in the same years as the IVF children. Controls were selected as all infants in the next 10 deliveries; if this was not possible, they were chosen as a random sample of 10 deliveries from the same month and year as the IVF births. Once linked, the data was deidentified before being sent to the investigators. Because not all items were included by each state, we created a summary item: any infertility question checked yes. Information on the birth certificate was evaluated for each of the 3 groups of children, overall and by plurality (singleton vs multiple birth). Institutional review board approval was obtained from each state and each university of the investigators.
Study Design
IVF cycles from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Online Reporting System (SART CORS), which includes more than 95% of all IVF cycles performed in the United States, were linked to certificates of live birth in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania (2004–2009 births), Texas (2005–2009 births), California and Ohio (2006–2009 births), and Colorado (2007–2009 births) (IVF children). Redshift Technologies, Inc (who maintains the SART CORS for the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology) sent a file to each of the 8 study states that included the following: woman’s name, social security number, date of birth, ZIP code, date of delivery, plurality, sex(es), and birthweight(s); using these identifiers, the linkage rate was > 95%. All other live births to the same woman were also identified (IVF siblings). As part of the primary study, a 10:1 sample of control deliveries (deliveries in which the mother was not in the SART CORS database) was selected by the same states and in the same years as the IVF children. Controls were selected as all infants in the next 10 deliveries; if this was not possible, they were chosen as a random sample of 10 deliveries from the same month and year as the IVF births. Once linked, the data was deidentified before being sent to the investigators. Because not all items were included by each state, we created a summary item: any infertility question checked yes. Information on the birth certificate was evaluated for each of the 3 groups of children, overall and by plurality (singleton vs multiple birth). Institutional review board approval was obtained from each state and each university of the investigators.
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