Reinisch June M, Mortensen Erik Lykke, Sanders Stephanie A
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, Indiana University, Morrison Hall 313, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA.
The Museum of Sex, New York, NY, USA.
Arch Sex Behav. 2017 Jul;46(5):1239-1249. doi: 10.1007/s10508-016-0923-z. Epub 2017 Apr 3.
Prenatal sex hormone levels affect physical and behavioral sexual differentiation in animals and humans. Although prenatal hormones are theorized to influence sexual orientation in humans, evidence is sparse. Sexual orientation variables for 34 prenatally progesterone-exposed subjects (17 males and 17 females) were compared to matched controls (M age = 23.2 years). A case-control double-blind design was used drawing on existing data from the US/Denmark Prenatal Development Project. Index cases were exposed to lutocyclin (bioidentical progesterone = CHO; M : 314.46) and no other hormonal preparation. Controls were matched on 14 physical, medical, and socioeconomic variables. A structured interview conducted by a psychologist and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on sexual orientation, self-identification, attraction to the same and other sex, and history of sexual behavior with each sex. Compared to the unexposed, fewer exposed males and females identified as heterosexual and more of them reported histories of same-sex sexual behavior, attraction to the same or both sexes, and scored higher on attraction to males. Measures of heterosexual behavior and scores on attraction to females did not differ significantly by exposure. We conclude that, regardless of sex, exposure appeared to be associated with higher rates of bisexuality. Prenatal progesterone may be an underappreciated epigenetic factor in human sexual and psychosexual development and, in light of the current prevalence of progesterone treatment during pregnancy for a variety of pregnancy complications, warrants further investigation. These data on the effects of prenatal exposure to exogenous progesterone also suggest a potential role for natural early perturbations in progesterone levels in the development of sexual orientation.
产前性激素水平会影响动物和人类的身体及行为性分化。虽然从理论上讲，产前激素会影响人类的性取向，但相关证据却很少。将34名产前接触过孕酮的受试者（17名男性和17名女性）的性取向变量与匹配的对照组（平均年龄 = 23.2岁）进行了比较。采用病例对照双盲设计，利用美国/丹麦产前发育项目的现有数据。索引病例接触过黄体酮（生物等效孕酮 = CHO；中位数：每毫升314.46纳克），未接触过其他激素制剂。对照组在14个身体、医学和社会经济变量上进行了匹配。由一名心理学家进行的结构化访谈和自行填写的问卷被用于收集有关性取向、自我认同、对同性和异性的吸引力以及与每种性别的性行为史的数据。与未接触者相比，接触过的男性和女性中，认定自己为异性恋的较少，且更多人报告有同性性行为史、对同性或两性都有吸引力，并且在对男性的吸引力得分上更高。异性性行为的测量指标和对女性吸引力的得分在接触组和未接触组之间没有显著差异。我们得出结论，无论性别如何，接触似乎都与双性恋比例较高有关。产前孕酮可能是人类性发育和心理性发育中一个未得到充分认识的表观遗传因素，鉴于目前因各种妊娠并发症而在孕期进行孕酮治疗的普遍情况，有必要进一步研究。这些关于产前接触外源性孕酮影响的数据也表明，孕酮水平的自然早期波动在性取向发展中可能发挥潜在作用。
