Study Tallies Risks for ‘DES Daughters’

Women exposed in their mother’s womb to the drug DES face a doubled risk of early breast cancer, among other health problems, a new study finds. These women also are twice as likely as average to have problems getting pregnant. DES was used for 30 years to help prevent miscarriages. But doctors later found out that it didn’t work. It also was linked to a rare form of cancer in the vagina. The new study looked more closely at other health risks. It included about 4,600 “DES daughters.” They were compared with 1,900 similar women whose mothers had not used DES. Researchers used surveys and medical records to track their health. When last surveyed, their average age was 48. DES daughters were more than twice as likely as the other women to have early menopause. They were twice as likely to have a pre-cancer found during a Pap smear.