Difference in prevalence of congenital cryptorchidism in infants between two Nordic countries

Several investigators have shown striking differences in semen quality and testicular cancer rate between Denmark and Finland. Since maldescent of the testis is a shared risk factor for these conditions we undertook a joint prospective study for the prevalence of congenital cryptorchidism. 1068 Dani...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet (British edition) 2004-04, Vol.363 (9417), p.1264-1269
Main Authors: Boisen, KA, Kaleva, M, Main, KM, Virtanen, HE, Haavisto, A-M, Schmidt, IM, Chellakooty, M, Damgaard, IN, Mau, C, Reunanen, M, Skakkebaek, NE, Toppari, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Babies
Biological and medical sciences
Birth Weight
Body fluids
Cancer
Cryptorchidism - classification
Cryptorchidism - complications
Cryptorchidism - epidemiology
Denmark - epidemiology
Endocrine disruptors
Environmental factors
Finland - epidemiology
General aspects
Genetic factors
Gestational Age
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Health problems
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature
Infant, Small for Gestational Age
Male
Male genital diseases
Males
Medical disorders
Medical sciences
Non tumoral diseases
Prevalence
Reproductive health
Reproductive system
Risk factors
Risk sharing
Testicular Neoplasms - epidemiology
Testicular Neoplasms - etiology
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Summary:Several investigators have shown striking differences in semen quality and testicular cancer rate between Denmark and Finland. Since maldescent of the testis is a shared risk factor for these conditions we undertook a joint prospective study for the prevalence of congenital cryptorchidism. 1068 Danish (1997–2001) and 1494 Finnish boys (1997–99) were consecutively recruited prenatally. We also established prevalence data for all newborns at Turku University Central Hospital, Finland (1997–99, n=5798). Testicular position was assessed by a standardised technique. All subtypes of congenital cryptorchidism were included, but retractile testes were considered normal. Prevalence of cryptorchidism at birth was 9·0% (95% CI 7·3–10·8) in Denmark and 2·4% (1·7–3·3) in Finland. At 3 months of age, prevalence rates were 1·9% (1·2–3·0) and 1·0% (0·5–1·7), respectively. Significant geographic differences were still present after adjustment for confounding factors (birthweight, gestational age, being small for gestational age, maternal age, parity, mode of delivery); odds ratio (Denmark vs Finland) was 4·4 (2·9–6·7, p
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15998-9