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Maternal age, parity, and pregnancy estrogens
K Panagiotopoulou1, K Katsouyanni, E Petridou
1Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Athens Medical School, Greece.
Cancer Causes & Control : CCC
|September 1, 1990
Summary
Maternal age and parity influence pregnancy hormone levels, with younger mothers showing lower total estrogens (TE) and estradiol (E2). These hormone levels may link to certain offspring health conditions.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Endocrinology
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Oncology
Background:
- Pregnancy hormone levels, including total estrogens (TE), estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and human placental lactogen (hPL), vary during gestation.
- Maternal age and parity are known factors that can influence physiological parameters during pregnancy.
- The relationship between pregnancy hormone levels and offspring health outcomes, such as cancer risk, is an area of ongoing research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between maternal age and parity and the levels of key pregnancy hormones (TE, E2, E3, hPL).
- To explore potential correlations between these hormone levels and the risk of certain offspring conditions, including breast, testicular cancer, and cryptorchidism.
Main Methods:
- Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to measure TE, E2, E3, and hPL in the blood of 126 pregnant women.
- Samples were collected during the 26th and 31st weeks of gestation.
- Statistical analysis was performed to assess the impact of maternal age and parity on hormone levels and to examine correlations between hormone measurements over time.
Main Results:
- Total estrogens and estradiol levels were lowest in women under 20 years old and highest in the 20-24 age group, with intermediate values in older women.
- Estriol showed a similar but less pronounced pattern with maternal age; human placental lactogen did not exhibit a clear maternal age pattern.
- Total estrogens and estradiol were slightly higher in women during their first full-term pregnancy compared to their second, particularly for estradiol (P=0.05).
- Strong correlations were observed for all measured hormones between the 26th and 31st weeks of gestation (r values ranging from 0.60 to 0.78).
Conclusions:
- Pregnancy hormone profiles are influenced by maternal age and, to a lesser extent, parity.
- While the data are inconclusive regarding a link between pregnancy estrogens and offspring breast cancer risk, they are compatible with hypotheses connecting excessive estrogen exposure to conditions like testicular cancer and cryptorchidism, which are more common in first-born individuals.