Evidence from a French cohort of 1002 prenatally exposed children and the example of diethylstilbestrol (DES) as a model for PE study
2016 Study Abstract
Aim of the work In utero diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure has been demonstrated to be associated with somatic abnormalities in adult men and women as well as shown for its trangenerationnal effect.
Endocrine disruptors and psychiatric disorders in children exposed in utero: evidence from a French cohort of 1002 prenatally exposed children and the example of diethylstilbestrol (DES) as a model for PE study, Conference Paper, Research Gate, publication/293333931, January 2016.
Researchers Marie-Odile Soyer-Gobillard and Charles Sultan, image credit lamarseillaise.
Conversely, the data are contradictory regarding the association with psychological or psychiatric disorders during adolescence and adulthood.
This work was designed to determine whether prenatal exposure to DES and/or Ethinyloestradiol affects brain development and whether it is associated with psychiatric disorders in male and female adolescents and young adults.
Methods
HHORAGES Association, a national patient support group, has assembled a cohort of 1280 women (spontaneous testimonies communicated after various informations) who took DES and/or EE during pregnancy. We obtained responses to detailed questionnaire from 529 families, corresponding to 1182 children divided into three groups:
- Group 1 (n=180): firstborn children without DES treatment,
- Group 2 (n=740): exposed children,
- and Group 3 (n=262): children born after a previous pregnancy treated by DES and/or EE.
Key Results
No psychiatric disorders were reported in Group 1. In Group 2, the incidence of psychiatric disorders was drastically elevated (83.8%), and in Group 3, the incidence was still elevated (6.1%) compared with the general population.
Total number of psychological/psychiatric disorders among the 982 (1002-20 stillborns) DES-exposed and post-DES children
Among the 982 DES-exposed adolescents (1002-20 stillborns) (Group 2) and post-DES adolescents (Group 3):
- Behavioral disorders, violence, aggressiveness, obsessive-compulsive disorders (n=110) (11.2%)
- Eating disorders (n=83) (8.4%)
- Schizophrenia (n=171) (17.4%)
- Depression, bipolar disorders, anxiety (n=257) (26.2%)
- Suicides (n=33) (3.4%)
- Suicide attempts (n=642) (65.4%)
Conclusions
This work demonstrates that prenatal exposure to DES and/or EE is associated with a high risk of psychiatric disorders in adolescence and adulthood. Molecular epigenetic mechanisms subtending these toxic effects are in progress.
More DES DiEthylStilbestrol Resources
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