Genital tract tears in women giving birth on a birth seat : A cohort study with prospectively collected data

Background: Birth positions may influence the risk of tears in the genital tract during birth. Birth positions are widely studied yet knowledge on genital tract tears following birth on a birth seat is inconclusive. Aim: The objective of this study was to describe the proportion of genital tract tears in women who gave birth on a birth seat compared to women who did not. Method: An observational cohort study based on birth information collected prospectively. In total 10 629 live, singleton, non-instrumental births in cephalic presentation were studied. Results: Fewer women who gave birth on a birth seat experienced an overall intact genital tract compared to women who gave birth in any other position. Women who gave birth on a birth seat were less likely to have an episiotomy performed. Women who gave birth vaginally on a birth seat after a previous caesarean section may have an increased risk for sustaining a sphincter tear. Discussion: It is important to be aware of the decreased chance of an overall intact genital tract area when giving birth on a birth seat. Furthermore, there is a possibly increased risk of sphincter tear in women having a vaginal birth after caesarean. It is required and of importance to provide pregnant women with evidence-based information on factors associated with genital tract tears including birth positions

Is male gynaecomastia associated with an increased risk of death? A nationwide register-based cohort study

Objective Recent evidence supports that gynaecomastia may predict long-term morbidity, but evidence on the association with death and causes of death in males with gynaecomastia is lacking. The objective of this work is to estimate the risk of death in men diagnosed with gynaecomastia and evaluate whether this was conditional on underlying aetiologies of gynaecomastia.Design A nationwide register-based cohort study.Setting Nationwide Danish national health registries.Participants Males were diagnosed with incident gynaecomastia (n=23 429) from 1 January 1995 to 30 June 2021, and each was age and calendar matched to five randomly population-based males without gynaecomastia (n=117 145).Interventions Not applicable.Primary and secondary outcomes Gynaecomastia was distinguished between males without (idiopathic) and males with a known pre-existing risk factor. Cox regression models and Kaplan-Meier analyses estimated associations between gynaecomastia and death (all cause/cause specific).Results We identified a total of 16 253 males with idiopathic gynaecomastia and 7176 with gynaecomastia and a known pre-existing risk factor. Of these, 1093 (6.7%) and 1501 (20.9%) died during follow-up, respectively. We detected a 37% increased risk of all-cause death in males with gynaecomastia in the entire cohort (HR 1.37; 95% CI 1.31 to 1.43). Death risk was highest in males diagnosed with gynaecomastia and a known pre-existing risk factor (HR 1.75; 95% CI 1.64 to 1.86) compared with males with idiopathic gynaecomastia (HR 1.05; 95% CI 0.98 to 1.13). Specific causes of increased death were malignant neoplasms and circulatory, pulmonary and gastrointestinal diseases. Of the latter, an over fivefold risk of death from liver disease was detected (HR 5.05; 95% CI 3.97 to 6.42).Conclusions Males diagnosed with gynaecomastia are at higher risk of death, observed mainly in males with a known pre-existing risk factor of gynaecomastia. These findings will hopefully stimulate more awareness among healthcare providers to potentially apply interventions that aid in alleviating underlying risk factors in males with this condition

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Risk of Testicular Cancer A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The incidence of many hormone-dependent diseases, including testicular cancer, has sharply increased in all high-income countries during the 20th century. This is not fully explained by established risk factors. Concurrent, increasing exposure to antiandrogenic environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in fetal life may partially explain this trend. This systematic review assessed available evidence regarding the association between environmental EDC exposure and risk of testicular cancer (seminomas and nonseminomas). Following PRISMA guidelines, a search of English peer-reviewed literature published prior to December 14, 2020 in the databases PubMed and Embase® was performed. Among the 279 identified records, 19 were eligible for quality assessment and 10 for further meta-analysis. The completeness of reporting was high across papers, but over 50% were considered subject to potential risk of bias. Mean age at diagnosis was 31.9 years. None considered effects of EDC multipollutant mixtures. The meta-analyses showed that maternal exposure to combined EDCs was associated with a higher risk of testicular cancer in male offspring [summary risk ratios: 2.16, (95% CI:1.78-2.62), 1.93 (95% CI:1.49-2.48), and 2.78 (95% CI:2.27-3.41) for all, seminoma, and nonseminoma, respectively]. Similarly, high maternal exposures to grouped organochlorines and organohalogens were associated with higher risk of seminoma and nonseminoma in the offspring. Summary estimates related to postnatal adult male EDC exposures were inconsistent. Maternal, but not postnatal adult male, EDC exposures were consistently associated with a higher risk of testicular cancer, particularly risk of nonseminomas. However, the quality of studies was mixed, and considering the fields complexity, more prospective studies of prenatal EDC multipollutant mixture exposures and testicular cancer are needed