Pregnancy outcome in partners of male professional divers in Norway

Diving is associated with both acute and long-term effects in several organ systems. Reduced semen quality after extreme diving and a reduced proportion of males in the offspring of divers have previously been reported.

To study pregnancy outcomes in partners of professional male divers.

The cohort of divers registered with the Norwegian Inshore Diving Registry was linked to the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN).

In total, 6186 male divers had 10395 children registered in the MBRN during the study period. Of these, 52% were boys, compared to 51% in the general population. The partners of a subgroup of divers who were most likely to be occupationally exposed at the time of conception reported that early miscarriage was more frequent (27%) than in the general population (21%; relative risk 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.05-1.39). Otherwise, there was a lower risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth, stillbirth, low birthweight, small for gestational age and low Apgar score compared to the general population. Birthweight above 4000g was more frequent.

We observed no reduced sex ratio in the offspring of occupational divers. Except for an increase in self-reported early miscarriage in the partners of exposed divers, we observed no excess risk of any of the adverse perinatal pregnancy outcomes studied.