Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Female Fetal Testosterone Levels

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02610751

Enrollment

Registered

2015-11-20

Start date

2016-01-31

Completion date

2019-08-26

Last updated

2019-08-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Smoking

Keywords

Maternal Smoking, Female Fetal Testosterone, Anogenital Distance, Maternal Testosterone, Maternal Cotinine

Brief summary

* The investigators hope their study will answer the question of whether or not fetal testosterone levels are increased in female newborns exposed to nicotine as a result of maternal smoking during pregnancy. Secondarily they plan to also evaluate maternal cotinine and testosterone levels and newborn anogenital distance, second digit to fourth digit (2D:4D) finger length ratio, newborn length and birth weight. * The investigators hope by performing this study, they will help to uncover the effect of tobacco exposure in utero on human female fetal testosterone levels, thus improving the counseling for tobacco use in pregnancy.

Detailed description

Epidemiological studies and laboratory research performed on animal models have revealed that the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy go beyond the perinatal period due to the effect of nicotine on increasing fetal testosterone levels. This is of great concern as an increase fetal testosterone has been linked to impaired reproductive development and infertility in both male and female offspring, early onset of menarche in females, shorter body height, increased BMI, shortened anogenital distance and low second digit to fourth digit finger length ratio. Additionally elevated fetal testosterone levels have been associated with development of psychosocial disorders such as Autism, ADHD, antisocial behavior, conduct disorder, adult criminal behavior, and sensation seeking behavior. Although there have been a few animal studies that have investigated the effects of maternal nicotine exposure on fetal testosterone levels with review of the epidemiologic literature on subsequent adverse implications, no known human studies have been performed to further investigate the relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and female fetal testosterone levels.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CONTROL

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Women, \>/= 18 years old * Current singleton pregnancy * Recruited prior to 3rd trimester lab visit * Known female fetus confirmed by Ultrasound, typically performed 18 to 22 weeks, or later gestational age (GA) * Self reported smoker (of at least ½ pack per day) or non-smoker documented in electronic chart. * Eligibility will not be limited by desired mode of delivery

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who successfully quit smoking at \<14 weeks gestation and who have not resumed smoking during the pregnancy will be excluded from the case/control arm of study. * Patients considered light smokers, who self report smoking less than ½ pack per day. * Patients with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Female Fetal Testosterone level	At delivery

Countries

United States

Outcome results