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Prenatal risk factors for cryptorchidism: a record linkage study
Author(s) -
Michael E. Jones,
Anthony Swerdlow,
Myfanwy Griffith,
Michael J Goldacre
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
paediatric and perinatal epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.667
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3016
pISSN - 0269-5022
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3016.1998.00144.x
Subject(s) - medicine , obstetrics , breech presentation , confidence interval , relative risk , pregnancy , record linkage , medical record , gestational age , birth weight , low birth weight , gynecology , pediatrics , population , surgery , genetics , environmental health , biology
Using data from the Oxford Record Linkage Study (ORLS), we conducted a case–control study to examine prenatal risk factors for cryptorchidism. We identified 1449 boys born during 1970–86 for whom there was a record of an orchidopexy during 1970–87. Up to eight controls were matched to each case on year of birth and hospital or place of delivery. For each boy and his mother we extracted abstracts of maternity and general hospital records from the ORLS. Low birthweight (trend P < 0.001), low social class (trend P < 0.001), breech presentation (relative risk 1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16, 2.41), pre‐eclampsia (1.17 [1.00, 1.37]), artificial feeding (1.22 [1.04, 1.45]) and episiotomy (1.13 [1.00, 1.27]) were identified as independent risk factors for cryptorchidism. Gestational age was not independently associated with cryptorchidism after adjusting for birthweight ( P = 0.33), and this observation suggested that some cryptorchid boys may have suffered from intra‐uterine growth retardation. Low birthweight, breech presentation and pre‐eclampsia may have in common poor placental function and impaired fetal growth, which may be causes of cryptorchidism.