United Kingdom Longitudinal Population Cohort Studies of Subfertile Individuals and Children Conceived after Fertility Treatments
LIFT
Our aim is to address key health outcomes of subfertile individuals and their children.
Nearly 2% of Children in the UK and 8 million children worldwide are known to be born after assisted reproductive technology (ART).
Over the last 40 years, since it was first pioneered in 1978, the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been increasing every year. The ability to have children may be linked to general health. We know that chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity are known to affect fertility. However, it is less clear how infertility is linked with future health. Recent research has shown that infertile men and women might be at greater risk of health problems later in life. Treatment details of all women who have had in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in the UK and their partners have been recorded since 1991. In this multi-stage study, we plan to use this data to explore the long-term cancer and general health outcomes of infertile men, women undergoing fertility treatment, and the children born via ART.