Historical cohort study of in utero exposure to uterotonic drugs and cognitive function in young adult life.

OBJECTIVE To examine whether in utero exposure to uterotonic drugs effects cognitive performance in draft-age men. DESIGN Historical cohort study based on birth registry data and cognitive function measured during evaluations for military service. SUBJECTS 4300 Danish conscripts born between 1973 and 1975. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES MEAN SCORE IN THE BOERGE PRIEN TEST OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION: score is the number of correct answers to 78 questions and correlates with the full scale intelligence quotient. RESULTS The mean Boerge Prien score was similar for those exposed (n=1011) to uterotonic drugs and those not exposed (n=3289), 43.1 versus 42.9 after adjustment for confounders. CONCLUSION Our data indicate that exposure to uterotonic drugs does not affect cognitive function 20 years later.