Maternal Bereavement and Cryptorchidism in Offspring

Ingstrup, Katja G.; Olsen, Jørn; Wu, Chun Sen; Nøhr, Ellen Aagaard; Bech, Bodil Hammer; Li, Jiong; Susser, Ezra; Jensen, Mads Christian

doi:10.1097/ede.0000000000000194

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…Previous studies have investigated the association between prenatal stress due to bereavement with hypospadias (33), cryptorchidism (34), and testicular cancer (35). Ingstrup et al (33,34) used the same source population and exposure as our study, with very similar results. However, the association between exposure to maternal bereavement and cryptorchidism was slightly stronger in our study, probably due to the more detailed adjustment for calendar time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reproductive function in the sons of women who experienced stress due to bereavement before and during pregnancy: a nationwide population-based cohort study

Plana‐Ripoll

Kesmodel

et al. 2017

Fertility and Sterility

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Reproductive function in the sons of women who experienced stress due to bereavement before and during pregnancy: a nationwide population-based cohort study

Plana‐Ripoll

Kesmodel

et al. 2017

Fertility and Sterility

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“…That study included all males born in Denmark between 1973 and 2008 ( n = 1,217,576) and in sub-analyses the association between prenatal bereavement in both first and second trimester and risk of cryptorchidism in sons, registered at birth in the Danish National Patient Registry was reported to be positive and significant, supporting the premise and results of our present study (22). However, another registry-based study also assessing bereavement during pregnancy and the risk of cryptorchidism at birth reported no associations (23). Both previous studies only considered one SLE, namely bereavement due to death of a close relative, and other unmeasured SLEs in those studies may have introduced some residual confounding.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-utero Exposure to Maternal Stressful Life Events and Risk of Cryptorchidism: The Raine Study

et al. 2019

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Cryptorchidism, registered at birth or later, is the most common birth defect in males in western countries, estimated to affect around 2–3% of newborn boys, declining to around 2% at 3 months. We have previously described a potential association between stressful life events (SLEs) in pregnancy and reduced semen quality and testosterone levels in adult offspring. Both outcomes are believed to share a common etiology with cryptorchidism thus increased risk of cryptorchidism in boys exposed to prenatal SLEs may be plausible. The risk of cryptorchidism associated with prenatal SLE amongst 1,273 male Generation 2 offspring was estimated using the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Study. SLEs are discrete experiences that disrupt an individual's usual activities causing a life change and readjustment, such as death of a relative or friend, divorce, illness or job loss. Mothers prospectively reported SLEs, during pregnancy at gestational weeks (GW) 18 and 34 using a standardized 10-point questionnaire. A boy was diagnosed as cryptorchid if one or both testes was non-palpable in the scrotum and not able to be manipulated into the scrotum. Twenty-four (2%) cryptorchid boys were identified. Mean (standard deviation) of SLE exposures in GW34 was 1.1 (1.2) for non-cryptorchid boys and slightly higher 1.5 (1.8) for cryptorchid boys, similar differences were observed in GW18. Adjusted odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for risk of cryptorchidism in early (18-weeks) and late gestation (34-weeks) according to prenatal SLE exposures were: 1.06 (95% CI: 0.77–1.45) and 1.18 (95% CI: 0.84–1.67), respectively. This is the first-time report on the possible relationships between exposure to early and late pregnancy SLEs and risk of cryptorchidism in a birth cohort. Prenatal SLE exposure was not associated with a statistically significant increase in the risk of cryptorchidism in male offspring. A small case population limits the statistical power of the study and future larger studies are required to evaluate this potential association.

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“…Fetal levels might nonetheless increase alongside maternal levels, and the fetus might be exquisitely sensitive to cortisol. The results of studies that have examined the consequences for offspring of various kinds of maternal stress during pregnancy-including but not limited to extreme maternal stress (e.g., maternal bereavement) (5,14,15) as well as maternal depression and other mental health challenges (3,6)-have been somewhat inconsistent. We cannot dismiss the possibility that the inconsistencies are due to the absence of effects, but for at least some outcomes inconsistencies are more likely due to the complexities of studying these relationships and the variability of methods across studies.…”

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confidence: 99%

Invited Commentary: An Ingenious Approach to Examining the Relationship Between Maternal Stress and Offspring Health?

Keyes¹,

Susser²

2017

American Journal of Epidemiology

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The potentially deleterious effects on offspring health of excess maternal stress in pregnancy are important to understand-both whether observed associations are causal and through what mechanisms their effects may exert an influence. In this issue of the Journal, Räikkönen et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2012;000(0):000-000) provide an ingenious test of a potential pathway through which maternal stress may influence offspring development. Licorice consumption is known to disrupt the ability of the placental enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 to inactivate cortisol before it reaches the fetus, leading to higher levels of cortisol exposure. Higher levels of cortisol exposure are also hypothesized to underlie the mechanism through which maternal stress may disrupt fetal development. Thus licorice consumption may serve, in some ways, to mimic maternal stress. The authors report associations between heavy licorice consumption during pregnancy and a wide range of offspring outcomes, including changes in pubertal timing, intelligence quotient, and mental health. In our view, these results should be considered preliminary; more work needs to be completed to determine the relationship of prenatal licorice consumption to these outcomes. Nonetheless, these intriguing and suggestive results demonstrate that this line of work should be given high priority, and they set the stage for additional research moving forward.

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Maternal Bereavement and Cryptorchidism in Offspring

Abstract: We observed no association between maternal bereavement before and during pregnancy and the occurrence of cryptorchidism in the offspring.

Cited by 5 publications

References 36 publications

Reproductive function in the sons of women who experienced stress due to bereavement before and during pregnancy: a nationwide population-based cohort study

Reproductive function in the sons of women who experienced stress due to bereavement before and during pregnancy: a nationwide population-based cohort study

In-utero Exposure to Maternal Stressful Life Events and Risk of Cryptorchidism: The Raine Study

Invited Commentary: An Ingenious Approach to Examining the Relationship Between Maternal Stress and Offspring Health?

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