Paracetamol is the most commonly preferred pain killer. For pregnant women, it is the primary medicine for managing pain and fever. But the researchers from University of Edinburgh have revealed that prolonged use may reduce testosterone production in unborn baby boys.

"This study adds to existing evidence that prolonged use of paracetamol in pregnancy may increase the risk of reproductive disorders in male babies," said lead researcher Rod Mitchell, a clinical research fellow at the University of Edinburgh.
"We would advise that pregnant women should follow current guidance that the painkiller be taken at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time," Mitchell suggested.

The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, tested the effect of paracetamol on testosterone production in mice with grafts of human testicular tissue designed to mimic how testes develop and function in pregnancy.

The researcher’s team gave the mice a typical daily dose of paracetamol over a period of either 24 hours or seven days and then measured the amount of testosterone produced by the human tissue an hour after the final dose of paracetamol. After 24 hours of paracetamol treatment, they found no effect on testosterone production, but after seven days of exposure, the amount of testosterone fell by 45 percent.

The team found that reduced exposure to testosterone in the womb has been linked to higher risk of infertility, testicular cancer and undescended testicles.

By Lizitha