Cause Found For Penis Disorder

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Cause Found For Penis Disorder, by Anne Petrov, 365Gay.com Science Editor

It's called Hypospadias and occurs when the urinary outlet is not located on the tip of the penis, but is on the underside of the head of the penis. The condition varies in severity and can be corrected with surgery. If left untreated, hypospadias can raise the risk of urination and sexual function problems later on.

Doctors have been puzzled over the cause of the disorder for decades. Now they think they've found the answer. The March issue of the Journal of Urology contains research showing women who delay childbirth are at increased risk of having a son with the relatively common abnormality.

A study Dr. Harry Fisch from Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Centre in New York found an increase in the risk of severe cases among boys born to mothers older than 35 years, compared with mothers younger than 20 years. Women 35 and older had a 20% higher risk overall of having a baby with hypospadias, the research shows.

Fisch and his team of researchers analyzed the incidence or hypospadias according to maternal age among women in New York State and California between 1983 and 1996. The investigators found that there were 1.2 to 3.1 cases of hypospadias per 1,000 births in women under 20 compared with 1.8 to 3.7 cases per 1,000 women over 35 or older.

"Maternal age may be the single most important factor besides the genetic (profile) of the father and mother," Fisch said.

"It is important for women to understand what the implications (of delayed childbearing) are."

But, older parenting exactly causes hypospadias remains unclear. Some researchers speculate that exposure to certain environmental pollutants and phytoestrogens in soy foods may contribute to the risk.

[Sounds more coincidental to me...]

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2001

Answers

>"It is important for women to understand what the implications (of delayed childbearing) are."

That's the key sentence. This article is another in the series to scare older women away from having children and to cause younger women to consider having them, when they might otherwise delay motherhood. Watch the covers of the magazines at the grocery counters. I expect the "older mom scare" to continue well into the Christmas season.

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2001


"...exposure to certain environmental pollutants and phytoestrogens in soy foods may contribute to the risk"

Maybe this is the key sentence. Suggests the milk lobby wrote the article!

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001


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