Auteur : Damian H. Adams, Adam Gerace, Michael J. Davies et Sheryl de Lacey
Date de mise en ligne : 31 mai 2021
Résumé
While donor-conceived children have similar mental health outcomes compared to spontaneously conceived children, there is an inconsistency between studies investigating mental health outcomes of donor-conceived people in adulthood. This study is an online health survey that was completed by 272 donor sperm-conceived adults and 877 spontaneously conceived adults from around the world. Donor sperm-conceived adults had increased diagnoses of attention deficit disorder (P = 0.004), and autism (P = 0.044) in comparison to those conceived spontaneously. Donor sperm-conceived adults self-reported increased incidences of seeing a mental health professional (P < 0.001), identity formation problems (P < 0.001), learning difficulties (P < 0.001), panic attacks (P = 0.038), recurrent nightmares (sperm P = 0.038), and alcohol/drug dependency (P = 0.037). DASS-21 analysis revealed that donor sperm-conceived adults were also more stressed than those conceived spontaneously (P = 0.013). Both donor sperm and spontaneously conceived cohorts were matched for sex, age, height, alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise, own fertility, and maternal smoking. The increase in adverse mental health outcomes is consistent with some studies of donor-conceived adult mental health outcomes. These results are also consistent with the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) phenomenon that has linked adverse perinatal outcomes, which have been observed in donor-conceived neonates, to increased risk of chronic disease, including mental health. Further work is required to reconcile our observations in adults to contrary observations reported in donor-conceived children.
 
Mots clés : Donor conception, health survey, mental health, online, outcome, self-reported
Citation : Adams, D., Gerace, A., Davies, M., & De Lacey, S. (2021). Self-reported mental health status of donor sperm-conceived adults. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 1-11. doi:10.1017/S2040174421000210
Lien du document : : https://doi.org/10.1017/S2040174421000210
 
			 
 










 Lydia est une richissime scientifique solitaire de vingt-neuf ans, Robyn une belle et prometteuse étudiante en médecine et Dean un très jeune père, déjà veuf et un peu dépassé. Ils n’ont a priori rien en commun, si ce n’est… leurs gènes ! Issus du même don de sperme, ils ont grandi se croyant seuls au monde et se découvrent soudain une fratrie. Chacun, à un tournant de sa vie, va se plonger dans une bouleversante quête d’identité. Un donneur de sperme, sur le point de mourir, souhaite savoir ce que sont devenus les enfants issus de ses dons.
 Lydia est une richissime scientifique solitaire de vingt-neuf ans, Robyn une belle et prometteuse étudiante en médecine et Dean un très jeune père, déjà veuf et un peu dépassé. Ils n’ont a priori rien en commun, si ce n’est… leurs gènes ! Issus du même don de sperme, ils ont grandi se croyant seuls au monde et se découvrent soudain une fratrie. Chacun, à un tournant de sa vie, va se plonger dans une bouleversante quête d’identité. Un donneur de sperme, sur le point de mourir, souhaite savoir ce que sont devenus les enfants issus de ses dons.
