PREGNANT women could be putting the fertility of future generations at risk by taking every day painkillers such as paracetamol.
A new study from the University of Edinburgh says that as well as having a potential impact on the woman’s unborn child, the drugs have been shown to leave marks on DNA.
It raises the possibility of common over the counter drugs taken to ease minor aches and pains during pregnancy impacting on the lives of their children’s children for decades to come.
Despite the findings, researchers have stressed that advice for pregnant women remains unchanged. Current guidelines state that if necessary paracetamol – also known as acetaminophen – should be used at the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time. Ibruprofen, meanwhile, should be avoided during pregnancy.
Dr Rod Mitchell, who led the research at the University of Edinburgh’s MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, said: “We would encourage women to think carefully before taking painkillers in pregnancy and to follow existing guidelines – taking the lowest possible dose for the shortest time possible.”
The NHS website currently states that “paracetamol is usually safe to take”. It adds: “Paracetamol has been used routinely during all stages of pregnancy to reduce a high temperature and for pain relief. There is no clear evidence that it has any harmful effects on an unborn baby."
Scientists at the university studied the impact of paracetamol and ibuprofen across a series of tests designed to establish how they impact on the unborn child.
In some cases, the painkillers were shown to have an almost immediate effect on germ cells, which give rise to sperm and eggs.
The scientists used samples of human fetal testes and ovaries and carried out a range of approaches, using lab tests on tissue samples and animal studies.
The most startling findings came in studies which researchers tested painkillers on mice carrying grafts of human fetal testicular tissue, which has been shown to mimic how the testes grow and function during development in the womb.
After just one day of treatment with a human-equivalent dose of paracetamol, the number of sperm-producing cells in the graft tissue had dropped by 17 per cent. After a week of drug treatment, there were almost one third fewer cells.
The research also found that human tissues exposed to either drug for one week in a dish had reduced numbers of germ cells.
Ovaries exposed to paracetamol for one week had more than 40 per cent fewer egg-producing cells. After ibuprofen exposure, the number of cells was almost halved.
The findings are particularly concerning because girls produce all of their eggs in the womb, and if born with a reduced number they could go on to experience an early menopause.
Painkiller exposure during development could have effects on unborn boys too, the study found. Testicular tissue exposed to painkillers in a culture dish had around a quarter fewer sperm-producing cells after exposure to paracetamol or ibuprofen.
The research appears to back up previous studies with rats which have shown that painkillers administered in pregnancy led to a reduction in germ cells in female offspring. This affected their fertility and the fertility of females in subsequent generations.
The scientists found that exposure to paracetamol or ibuprofen triggers mechanisms in the cell that make changes in the structure of DNA, called epigenetic marks. These marks can be inherited, helping to explain how the effects of painkillers on fertility may be passed on to future generations.
Painkillers’ effects on germ cells are likely caused by their actions on molecules called prostaglandins, which have key functions in the ovaries and testes, the researchers found.
The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, was funded by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome and the British Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes.
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