Conception by fertility treatment and offspring deoxyribonucleic acid methylation.

Objective To investigate whether deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation at birth and in childhood differ by conception using assisted reproductive technologies (ART) or ovulation induction compared with those in children conceived without fertility treatment. Design Upstate KIDS is a matched exposure cohort which oversampled on newborns conceived by treatment. Setting New York State (excluding New York City). Patient(s) This analysis included 855 newborns and 152 children at approximately 9 years of age. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) DNA methylation levels were measured using the Illumina EPIC platform. Single CpG and regional analyses at imprinting genes were conducted. Result(s) Compared to no fertility treatment, ART was associated with lower mean DNA methylation levels at birth in 11 CpGs (located in/near SYCE1, SPRN, KIAA2013, MYO1D, GET1/WRB-SH4BGR, IGF1R, SORD, NECAB3/ACTL10, and GET1) and higher mean methylation level in 1 CpG (KLK4; all false discovery rate P Conclusion(s) ART but not ovulation induction was associated with hypomethylation at birth, but only one difference at an imprinting region appeared to persist in childhood.