Prenatal Exposure to Glycol Ethers and Male Genital Anomalies

Introduction: Glycol ethers (GE) are solvents present in a wide range of occupational and domestic products. Numerous animal studies reported reprotoxic effects of GE and showed that some of them alter testicular functions and fetal development. The aim of our study is to evaluate the relation between prenatal exposure to GE and male genital anomalies. Methods: We carried out a case-control study nested in two mother–child cohorts (5,300 pregnant women). Concentrations of 5 GE metabolites were measured in spot maternal urine samples, collected before 28 weeks of gestation. Cases of male genital anomalies (n=14 hypospadias and n=14 cryptorchidism) were identified at birth by pediatricians and later validated by surgery reports. Three controls per case were randomly selected and matched on district of inclusion and gestational age at urine sampling. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using multiple conditional logistic regressions with a Firth’s penalization to prevent small-sample bias. Results: Detection rat...