Association of prenatal phenobarbital and phenytoin exposure with genital anomalies and menstrual disorders

Background Animal studies demonstrated that early exposure to phenobarbital decreases reproductive function. This study investigates whether prenatal exposure to these anticonvulsants affects human genital tract development. Methods Genital anomalies at birth were studied retrospectively in 90 pheno...

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Published in:Teratology (Philadelphia) 2001-10, Vol.64 (4), p.181-188
Main Authors: Dessens, Arianne B., Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T., Mellenbergh, Gideon J., Koppe, Janna G., Poll, Nanne E. V.D., Boer, Kees
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anticonvulsants - adverse effects
Biological and medical sciences
Case-Control Studies
Cryptorchidism - etiology
Drug toxicity and drugs side effects treatment
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Genitalia - abnormalities
Genitalia - embryology
Humans
Male
Maternal Age
Maternal Exposure
Medical sciences
Menstruation Disturbances - etiology
Miscellaneous (drug allergy, mutagens, teratogens...)
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Phenobarbital - adverse effects
Phenytoin - adverse effects
Pregnancy
Retrospective Studies
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Summary:Background Animal studies demonstrated that early exposure to phenobarbital decreases reproductive function. This study investigates whether prenatal exposure to these anticonvulsants affects human genital tract development. Methods Genital anomalies at birth were studied retrospectively in 90 phenobarbital‐exposed, 108 phenobarbital plus phenytoin‐exposed, and 198 matched control infants. Of this group, 72 drug‐exposed males, 75 drug‐exposed females, and 147 matched control subjects participated in a follow‐up and were interviewed at age 19–35. Differences between groups were tested by chi‐square and t‐tests. Results A total of 15% of the phenobarbital‐exposed boys versus 2.8% control boys had undescended testes at birth. More anticonvulsant‐exposed (24%) than control males (11%) had received medical treatment for genital anomalies. Anticonvulsant‐exposed females more often had irregularities in menstrual cycles (31% vs 17%) and bleeding (15% vs 3%) and reported more problems during pregnancy. Conclusions Prenatal exposure to anticonvulsants seems to induce minor genital anomalies and may affect reproductive function. Teratology 64:181–188, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0040-3709
1096-9926
DOI:10.1002/tera.1063