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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffThis condition is more common in infants with a family history of hypospadias.
Some research suggests that there may be an increased risk of hypospadias in infant males born to women of an advanced age or those who used in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive. The connection to IVF may be due to the mother's exposure to progesterone, a natural hormone, or to progestin, a synthetic form of progesterone, administered during the IVF process. Other research, however, hasn't confirmed a link between IVF and hypospadias, but did find an association between a mother's exposure to pesticides and hypospadias.
References
- Kraft KH, et al. Hypospadias. Urologic Clinics of North America 2010;37:167.
- Hypospadias. American Urology Association. www.urologyhealth.org/print/index.cfm?topic=96. Accessed Dec. 3, 2010.
- Yiee JH. Environmental factors in genitourinary development. Journal of Urology. 2010;174:34.
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