GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: BioEdge: Study fails to discount link between fertility treatment and cardiovascular disease

sábado, 2 de septiembre de 2017

BioEdge: Study fails to discount link between fertility treatment and cardiovascular disease

Study fails to discount link between fertility treatment and cardiovascular disease

by Michael Cook | 2 Sep 2017 |

The authors of the first meta-study of links between fertility treatment and cardiovascular disease have called for more research after concluding that “The longer term cardiovascular effects of fertility therapy are unknown”. In an article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologyresearchers from McGill University in Montreal reported said there are “ongoing knowledge gaps to inform the longer term CV risk or safety of fertility therapy”.

Part of the problem is that the authors of the study could only identify six studies – which involved 40,000 women – of the risk of CV events after fertility treatment.

An accompanying editorial pointed out that more and more older women are seeking fertility treatment – which raises the risk of stroke or heart disease.

“Fatherhood” is what the guys in the business of policing the language call an “essentially contested concept” – no matter how much palaver you invest in it, you won’t make any progress. At least nowadays.

Below we feature a story from the Netherlands about two men who have each sired over a hundred children, one through sperm donation to IVF clinics, the other mostly through more conventional channels. Are they fathers?

Another story comes from Australia, which is girding its loins for a campaign on same-sex marriage. A group promoting closer links between fathers and their children, Dads4Kids, has been running a public service TV advertisement for 15 years. This year, a 30-second spot of a dad crooning to his wee sprog was rejected because it was “too political”.

A spokesman for the foundation complained:

“It is extraordinary that this is where we have come to as a country; we can no longer celebrate Father’s Day without being forced to look at it through the lens of the same-sex marriage debate. It’s a tragedy that a political motive is now implied in any mention of fatherhood. Not everything is about same-sex marriage.”

The history of this simple advertisement tracks the evolving concept. In a span of 15 years, fatherhood, or rather “fatherhood”, has shifted from a universally admired status to a politically suspect notion. Are we the better for it?

Happy Father’s Day to our Australian readers.