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The use of painkillers such as aspirin, ibuprofen and paracetamol in pregnancy could be linked to male risk of fertility
problems.
Women who take more than one painkiller at the same time during pregnancy, or who take the drugs during the second trimester, are more likely to give birth to baby boys with undescended testicles, a study
found.
The condition, also known as cryptorchidism, affects around one in 20 boys in the
UK.
Undescended testicles are linked to fertility problems later in life and an increased likelihood of suffering testicular cancer.
More than half of
pregnant women in the Western world report intake of mild analgesics, and some of these drugs have been associated with anti-androgenic effects in animal experiments.
Intrauterine exposure to anti-androgens is suspected to contribute to the recent increase in male reproductive problems, and many of the anti-androgenic compounds are like the mild analgesics potent inhibitors of prostaglandin
synthesis.
Researchers said the effect of analgesics on rats was comparable with that caused by similar doses of known hormone, or endocrine, disrupters such as phthalates, a family of chemical compounds used in the manufacture of plastics such as PVC.
Therefore, it appears imperative to further investigate the potential endocrine disrupting properties of mild
analgesics.
Doctors already advise pregnant women to avoid taking painkillers if possible to protect their unborn child but reassured women that taking the occasional painkiller for a headache should not cause any harm.
In a prospective birth cohort study, 2297 Danish and Finnish pregnant women completed a questionnaire and 491 of the Danish mothers participated in a telephone interview, reporting on their use of mild analgesics during pregnancy.
The testicular position of newborns was assessed by trained paediatricians. In rats, the impact of mild analgesics on anogenital distance (AGD) after intrauterine exposure was examined together with the effect on ex vivo gestational day 14.5
testes.
In the Danish birth cohort, the use of mild analgesics was dose-dependently associated with congenital cryptorchidism. In particular, use during the second trimester increased the risk.
This risk was further increased after the simultaneous use of different analgesics.
The association was not found in the Finnish birth cohort.
Intrauterine exposure of rats to paracetamol led to a reduction in the AGD and mild analgesics accordingly reduced testosterone production in ex vivo fetal rat
testes.
There was an association between the timing and the duration of mild analgesic use during pregnancy and the risk of cryptorchidism.
These findings were supported by anti-androgenic effects in rat models leading to impaired masculinization.
Our results suggest that intrauterine exposure to mild analgesics is a risk factor for development of male reproductive disorders.
Autors
David Møbjerg Kristensen1, Ulla Hass2, Laurianne Lesne´ 3,
Grete Lottrup1, Pernille Rosenskjold Jacobsen2,
Christele Desdoits-Lethimonier3, Julie Boberg2,
Jørgen Holm Petersen4, Jorma Toppari5, Tina Kold Jensen1,
Søren Brunak6, Niels E. Skakkebæk1, Christine Nellemann2,
Katharina M. Main1, Bernard Je´gou3, and Henrik Leffers 1,*
1Department of Growth and Reproduction, University of Copenhagen, Section GR5064, Blegdamsvej 9, Rigshospitalet, DK-2100
Copenhagen, Denmark 2National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
3INSERM (Institut National de la Sante´ et de la Recherche Me´dicale), U625, GERHM, IFR 140, Universite´ de Rennes I, Campus de Beaulieu,
Rennes F-35042, France 4Institute of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, DK-1014
Copenhagen, Denmark 5Departments of Pathology and Paediatrics, University of Turku, FI-20520 Turku, Finland 6Center for Biological
Sequence Analysis, Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Source
Intrauterine exposure to mild
analgesics is a risk factor for development of male reproductive
disorders in human and rat.
(MDN)
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