Birth defects in children of men exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol (DES)
2018 Study Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) is associated with adverse effects, including genital anomalies and cancers in men and women. Animal studies showed birth defects and tumors in the offspring of mice prenatally exposed to DES. In humans, birth defects, such as hypospadias were observed in children of prenatally exposed women. The aim of this research was to assess the birth defects in children of prenatally exposed men.
METHODS
In a retrospective study conceived by a patients’ association (Réseau DES France), the reports of men prenatally exposed to DES on adverse health effects in their children were compared with those of unexposed controls and general population.
RESULTS
An increased incidence of two genital anomalies,
- cryptorchidism (OR=5.72; 95% CI 1.51-21.71),
- and hypoplasia of the penis (OR=22.92; 95% CI 3.81-137.90),
was observed in the 209 sons of prenatally exposed men compared with controls, but hypospadias incidence was not increased in comparison with either the controls or the general population. No increase of genital anomalies was observed in daughters.
CONCLUSION
With caution due to the methods and to the small numbers of defects observed, this work suggests an increased incidence of two male genital tract defects in sons of men prenatally exposed to DES. This transgenerational effect, already observed in animals and in the offspring of women prenatally exposed to DES, could be the result of epigenetic changes transmitted to the subsequent generation through men.
Sources
- Birth defects in children of men exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol (DES), Therapie, NCBI PubMed PMID: 29609831, 2018 Mar 3.
- Featured image credit Danielle MacInnes.
DES DIETHYLSTILBESTROL RESOURCES
- Source DES transgenerational effects studies.
- Diethylstilbestrol DES studies by topics.