Daughters Exposed to DES

In the 1940s through the 1970s woman were given Diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic non-steroidal estrogen to prevent against miscarriages. When DES was first prescribed, tests were run to determine if the drug was preventing miscarriages. According to clinical standards the results tested positive. It was later found that DES exposure in utero led to an increased rate of miscarriage and preterm birth. In 1971, the Food and Drug Administration released a warning about the use of DES.

The daughters who were exposed in utero to DES were believed to reach menopause at an earlier age. In 2006, Boston University also did a study to determine the effects DES has on the age in which women reach menopause. Questionnaires were sent by mail to 4,210 women exposed to DES while in the womb and1,829 women who were not exposed to DES. The questionnaire was followed up by a telephone interview for those who did not respond to the survey. The questions in this survey were about cancer, medical history, reproductive history, and the occurrence of menopause. A follow-up survey was conducted and sent to 6,551 women who were eligible

The results showed that the mean age of women reaching menopause who were exposed to DES had the mean age of 51.5. This is lower compared to unexposed women who had the mean age of 52.2 years old when they reached menopause. Exposed women in this survey also had higher levels of education, were less likely to have ever smoked, had fewer children, and had children at a later age at first birth. DES-exposed women were approximately 50% more likely to have reached natural menopause at each age as seen in figure 1.



http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/164/7/682.full