Reproductive effects of in utero exposure to estrogen and progestin drugs

Objective: To determine whether in utero exposure to estrogens and progesti ns other than diethylstilbestrol reduces fertility in offspring. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Helsinki, Finland. Patient(s): One thousand eight hundred eighty-eight women and men exposed t o female hormone drugs in utero from 1954-1963 and 2,044 age-matched contro ls. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): The numbers and timing of live births and marriage s for men and women and of unsuccessful pregnancies for women. Result(s): There were no differences between the exposed and control men in most outcome indicators. However, fewer exposed men than control men had t heir first liveborn child within a short time after getting married, and th e mean time from the first to the second live birth was shorter. The former also was found for the women. The overall cumulative proportions of livebo rn children and pregnancies were similar in the exposed and control groups, but younger exposed men and women had liveborn children and pregnancies so mewhat later. Conclusion(s): Estrogen- and progestin-containing drugs as used in the stud y population did not have much impact on the fertility of offspring. (Ferti l Steril(R) 1999;71:1092-8. (C) 1999 by American Society for Reproductive M edicine.).