Association between fetal DES-exposure and psychiatric disorders in adolescence/adulthood: evidence from a French cohort of 1002 prenatally exposed children

Marie-Odile Soyer-Gobillard (1, 2) , Françoise Paris (3, 4) , Laura Gaspari (3) , Philippe Courtet (3, 5) , Charles Sultan (3)

1 UPMC - Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 - UFR de Médecine Pierre et Marie Curie
2 MBCE - Modèles en biologie cellulaire et évolutive
3 CHRU Montpellier - Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Montpellier]
4 IRCM - U1194 Inserm - UM - Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier
5 PSNREC - Neuropsychiatrie : recherche épidémiologique et clinique

In utero diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure has been demonstrated to be associated with somatic abnormalities in adult men and women. Conversely, the data are contradictory regarding the association with psychological or psychiatric disorders during adolescence and adulthood. This work was designed to determine whether prenatal exposure to DES affects brain development and whether it is associated with psychiatric disorders in male and female adolescents and young adults. HHORAGES Association, a national patient support group, has assembled a cohort of 1280 women who took DES during pregnancy. We obtained questionnaire responses from 529 families, corresponding to 1182 children divided into three groups: Group 1 (n = 180): firstborn children without DES treatment, Group 2 (n = 740): exposed children, and Group 3 (n = 262): children born after a previous pregnancy treated by DES. No psychiatric disorders were reported in Group 1. In Group 2, the incidence of disorders was drastically elevated (83.8%), and in Group 3, the incidence was still elevated (6.1%) compared with the general population. This work demonstrates that prenatal exposure to DES is associated with a high risk of psychiatric disorders in adolescence and adulthood.

Mots clés: adulthood; Adolescence; psychiatric disorders; suicide; prenatal DES exposure

Domaines: Gynécologie et obstétrique; Endocrinologie et métabolisme; Psychiatrie et santé mentale; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Marie-Odile Soyer-Gobillard, Françoise Paris, Laura Gaspari, Philippe Courtet, Charles Sultan. Association between fetal DES-exposure and psychiatric disorders in adolescence/adulthood: evidence from a French cohort of 1002 prenatally exposed children. Gynecological Endocrinology, 2016, 32 (1), pp.25-29. ⟨10.3109/09513590.2015.1063604⟩. ⟨hal-01890357⟩