Lifestyle in pregnancy and cryptorchidism in sons: a study within two large Danish birth cohorts

Abstract

PurposeCryptorchidism is the most frequent congenital malformation in boys and is associated with low sperm count, infertility and testicular cancer. Unhealthy maternal lifestyle during pregnancy such as smoking, high prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) as well as alcohol and caffeine intake may constitute possible risk factors for cryptorchidism, but results from the few previous studies are conflicting. We aimed to explore the association between maternal lifestyle factors and occurrence of cryptorchidism in sons.Patients and methodsThe Danish National Birth Cohort and the Aarhus Birth Cohort provided information on maternal lifestyle from early pregnancy. Data were linked to several Danish health registers, multiple imputation was used to handle missing data and Cox proportional hazards models were used to adjust for potential confounders.ResultsIn total, 85,923 boys were included, and of them, 2.2% were diagnosed with cryptorchidism. We observed the strongest associations between maternal tobacco smoking and prepregnancy BMI and cryptorchidism. Sons of women who smoked 10–14 cigarettes/day had the highest hazard ratio (HR) for cryptorchidism (1.37; 95% CI: 1.06–1.76), and for maternal BMI ≥30 kg/m2, the HR was 1.32 (95% CI: 1.06–1.65). Binge drinking was associated with an HR <1, if the women had one or two episodes in pregnancy (HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.67–0.98). Average maternal alcohol intake and caffeine intake during pregnancy were not significantly associated with a higher occurrence of cryptorchidism detected at birth or later in life.ConclusionMaternal tobacco smoking, overweight and obesity in pregnancy were associated with higher occurrence of cryptorchidism in boys in this study.

How boys and testicles wander to surgery: a nationwide cohort study of surgical delay in Sweden

“…4 23 However, maternal smoking during pregnancy did not add to the risk in our analysis, and the recently reported association of smoking on cryptorchidism risk may have been mediated by imbalances in established birth-related risk factors. 19 Earlier studies have suggested associations between rural area of residence and treatment delays in cryptorchidism. However, these studies were either based on population aggregates or averages for area of residence rather than individual-level data, or have not shown any clear association with the risk for delay.…”

“… 4 23 However, maternal smoking during pregnancy did not add to the risk in our analysis, and the recently reported association of smoking on cryptorchidism risk may have been mediated by imbalances in established birth-related risk factors. 19 …”

“…16 Recent studies have suggested that maternal smoking and obesity add to this risk, even if such studies have not considered the explanatory effect of prematurity-related risk factors on the common pathway to disease. 18 19 A few epidemiological studies have claimed that socioeconomic background, rurality and insurance status are associated with delayed treatment. 2 20 21 However, these studies were either based on population aggregates or What is known about the subject?…”

Okul Çocuklarında İnmemiş Testis ve Enürezis Prevalansı: Prospektif Kesitsel Epidemiyolojik Çalışma

“…Gebelik sırasında anne alkol alımı ile çocuklarında inmemiş testis sıklığı arasında anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmadığı raporlanmış. [20] Diğer taraftan Estors ve arkadaşları babanın alkol alımının ve sigara içmesinin inmemiş testis için 2,36 katlık bir riske sahip olduğunu raporlamışlar. [21] Bizim çalışmamızda ise anne veya babanın alkol ve sigara içimi inmemiş testis riskini arttırmadığı tespit edildi.…”

Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and pathogenesis of cryptorchidism. Evaluation and treatment of undescended testicle

“…According to a study by Kjersgaard et al, mothers with overweight and obesity in pregnancy were associated with higher occurrence of cryptorchidism in boys, but a meta-analysis performed by Zhang et al did not prove this observation [33,34]. Some studies found an as-sociation between cryptorchidism and maternal diabetes [35].…”