title: Most Frequently Reported Prescription Medications and Supplements in Couples Planning Pregnancy: The LIFE Study.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Palmsten
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Katrina F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.|2 Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Christina D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: 4 Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Rockville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Rajeshwari
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sundaram
authors.affiliation: 4 Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Rockville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Germaine M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Buck Louis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D016742:Preconception Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D055553:Prescription Drugs
keywords: dietary supplements; fecundity; fertility; medication; preconception care