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Most Frequently Reported Prescription Medications and Supplements in Couples Planning Pregnancy: The LIFE Study

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Abstract

Objective

To identify frequently reported prescription medications and supplements among couples planning pregnancy because there is a lack of descriptive information on these agents in women and men who are trying to conceive.

Methods

Five hundred one couples enrolled in the Longitudinal Study of Infertility and the Environment, which took place between 2005 and 2009. Participants reported prescription medications as well as prescription and over-the-counter supplements used through interviews at study enrollment and through daily dairies during the 12-month follow-up. We identified prescription medications and supplements prospectively reported by > 1% of women and men at baseline and from daily journal information grouped into 3-month preconception follow-up intervals while couples tried for pregnancy.

Results

The 5 most reported prescription medications among women were levothyroxine (5.8%), cetirizine (2.6%), fluticasone (2.4%), escitalopram (1.8%), and fluoxetine (1.8%) and for men were lisinopril (2.0%), mometasone (2.0%), fexofenadine (1.8%), atorvastatin (1.6%), and montelukast (1.6%). The most reported supplements were multivitamins (63.3%, 43.5%) and fish oil (13.2%, 9.4%) for women and men, respectively, and prenatal vitamins (22.0%) for women. For women during the first 3 months of follow-up, prenatal vitamins (6.0%) and antibiotics ( 1.2%-2.6%) were among the most frequently started medications. During the next 3 months, clomiphene (4.5%) was the most frequently initiated medication.

Conclusions

Couples trying for pregnancy reported a variety of prescription medications and supplements, and they differed by gender. Preconception guidance should address medication and supplement use to avoid potential exposures associated with adverse reproductive and perinatal outcomes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive #0828, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Kristin Palmsten ScD & Christina D. Chambers PhD, MPH

  2. Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Katrina F. Flores MPH & Christina D. Chambers PhD, MPH

  3. Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Lauren A. Weiss PhD

  4. Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Rockville, MD, USA

    Rajeshwari Sundaram PhD, MS & Germaine M. Buck Louis PhD, MS

Authors
  1. Kristin Palmsten ScD
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  2. Katrina F. Flores MPH
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  3. Christina D. Chambers PhD, MPH
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  4. Lauren A. Weiss PhD
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  5. Rajeshwari Sundaram PhD, MS
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  6. Germaine M. Buck Louis PhD, MS
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Correspondence to Kristin Palmsten ScD.

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Palmsten, K., Flores, K.F., Chambers, C.D. et al. Most Frequently Reported Prescription Medications and Supplements in Couples Planning Pregnancy: The LIFE Study. Reprod. Sci. 25, 94–101 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719117702249

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719117702249

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