Maternal hormonal contraceptive use and offspring overweight or obesity

Abstract

Objective Experiments in animal models have shown a positive association between in utero exposure to pharmacologic sex hormones and offspring obesity. The developmental effects of such hormones on human obesity are unknown. Methods Using data from a large, prospective pregnancy cohort study (n=19,652), with linkage to a national prescription registry, we evaluated the association between use of hormonal contraceptives before and after conception (defined from dispensed prescription data and characterized by last date of use relative to conception, 12 – >4 months before (n=3,392), 4 – >1 months before (n=2,541), 1 – > 0 months before (n=2,997), and 0–12 weeks after (n=567)) in relation to offspring overweight or obesity at age 3 years. Results We observed a weak, inverse association between early pregnancy use of a combination oral contraceptive and offspring overweight or obesity at age 3 (adjusted OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.53, 1.08) and a positive, but imprecise, association with use of a progestin-only oral contraceptive in early pregnancy (adjusted OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 0.79, 2.02). In general, no association was observed between use of a hormonal contraceptive before conception and offspring overweight or obesity. A sensitivity analysis comparing combination oral contraceptive users in early pregnancy to other unplanned pregnancies without hormonal contraceptive use further strengthened the inverse association (adjusted OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.48, 1.02). Other sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness of the associations observed given varying assumptions. Conclusion Pharmacologic sex hormones in early pregnancy may be inversely or positively associated with offspring overweight or obesity at age 3, depending on the specific formulation used. The present study provides support for the potential for environmental sources of hormonally active agents to exert developmental effects.

A Longitudinal Study of Road Traffic Noise and Body Mass Index Trajectories from Birth to 8 Years

“…BMI was based on parental reports. A recent article 54 reported the results of a validation study done to assess the accuracy of parental-reported BMI in the MoBa study. The reported BMIs were compared with measured BMIs obtained in the Bergen Growth Study.…”

Short-term safety evaluation of the offspring conceived by 7272 artificial insemination cycles with donor spermatozoon

“…Jensen et al . () reported that use of the progestin in early pregnancy was positively associated with offspring overweight or obesity. The patients undergoing AID groups in our centre were given conventional luteal support, which may explain the differences between two groups in the distribution of birthweight.…”

Prenatal Exposure to Acetaminophen and Overweight in Childhood

“…Emerging evidence has indicated that in utero exposure to obesogens , including various types of endocrine disruptors, can disturb the developmental and homeostatic controls over adipogenesis, thus affecting the weight‐control mechanisms and energy balance later in life . Prenatal exposure to pharmacologic sources of estrogenic agents such as oral contraceptives and diethylstilbestrol were linked to childhood overweight or obesity in a few studies . Acetaminophen has been reported to induce rather strong hormonal effects, such as inhibiting androgen or prostaglandin synthesis, in experimental settings .…”