ART Safety Assessment: Parent-Offspring

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has become an essential tool for overcoming infertility, significantly transforming global family planning practices. Despite its widespread success, increasing ART utilization has raised significant concerns about potential long-term safety implications for offspring and parents. Current evidence suggests that ART may be associated with altered metabolic profiles, cardiovascular risks, and varying developmental outcomes in offspring. Additionally, parental health risks related to ART procedures themselves require further exploration. The underlying biological mechanisms driving these health effects remain largely unclear. Moreover, population-level epidemiological studies have started highlighting patterns and risks but need further in-depth analysis. Given the complexity and potential seriousness of these issues, strategies and interventions aimed at mitigating identified risks must be developed and assessed rigorously. Addressing these knowledge gaps through comprehensive research is critical for ensuring the continued safety and success of ART procedures.

The primary purpose of this Research Topic is to address critical knowledge gaps regarding the long-term safety and health outcomes associated with assisted reproductive technology (ART). Specifically, we aim to evaluate developmental, metabolic, and cardiovascular risks in offspring conceived via ART, and to clarify potential health implications for parents undergoing ART procedures. By identifying and understanding these risks and their mechanisms, we strive to enhance clinical decision-making, refine ART practices, and provide a clear guideline for future research to ensure optimal health outcomes for ART-conceived children and their parents.

Therefore, we welcome articles addressing both the scope and boundaries of this research, including but not limited to the following themes:
1) Evaluation of long-term health outcomes of offspring conceived via ART, particularly metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological, and developmental implications.
2) Investigation into health outcomes for parents undergoing ART procedures, including reproductive, psychological, and physiological effects.
3) Exploration of biological mechanisms underlying observed ART-related health outcomes in both parents and offspring.
4) Development and assessment of clinical strategies and interventions to mitigate identified ART-related health risks.
5) Epidemiological studies focused on ART safety at the population level, including comparative analyses between ART-conceived and naturally-conceived individuals.

Keywords: Assisted reproductive technology; ART safety; offspring health; parental effects; long-term outcomes

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.