Semen Quality and Reproductive Health of Young Czech Men Exposed to Seasonal Air Pollution

Abstract

This study of male reproductive health in the Czech Republic resulted from community concern about potential adverse effects of air pollution. We compared young men (18 years of age) living in Teplice, a highly industrialized district with seasonally elevated levels of air pollution, to those from Prachatice, a rural district with relatively clean air. Surveys were scheduled for either late winter, after the season of higher air pollution, or at the end of summer, when pollution was low. Participation included a physical examination, donation of a semen sample, and completion of a questionnaire on health, personal habits, and exposure to solvents and metals through work or hobby. Analysis of data from 408 volunteers showed that the men from Teplice and Prachatice were similar in physical characteristics, personal habits, and work-or hobby-related exposures. Sixty-six percent (272) of these men donated a single semen sample for routine semen analysis, computer-aided sperm motion analysis, and sperm chromatin structure assay. The mean (median) sperm concentration and sperm count were 61.2 (44.0) million/mL semen and 113.3 (81.5) million, respectively, and were not associated with district of residence or period of elevated air pollution. However, periods of elevated air pollution in Teplice were significantly associated with decrements in other semen measures including proportionately fewer motile sperm, proportionately fewer sperm with normal morphology or normal head shape, and proportionately more sperm with abnormal chromatin. These results suggest that young men may experience alterations in sperm quality after exposure to periods of elevated air pollution, without changes in sperm numbers.

Exposure to ambient air pollutants and spontaneous abortion

“…37 Studies have suggested that exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with defects in several measures of semen quality. [38][39][40] Therefore, according to the previous studies mentioned above, air pollution at maternal and paternal residences might be assumed to be a proxy for SAB.…”

Effects of indoor air purification by an air cleaning system (Koala technology) on semen parameters in male factor infertility: results of a pilot study

“…It is well established that spermatogenesis is particularly sensitive to environmental attacks of physical or chemical nature in working settings (De Rosa et al, 2003;Sheiner et al, 2003;Jensen et al, 2006). Moreover, some studies (Adamopoulos et al, 1996;Sram et al, 1996Sram et al, , 1999Selevan et al, 2000;Rubes et al, 2005) have reported the potential relationship between the continuous deterioration in the long run of the air pollution indices and the declining main sperm parameters with consequential impaired reproductive function in male population. Specifically, Rubes et al (2005) found that the percentage of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation was significantly associated with air pollution exposure.…”

“…Otherwise, the detrimental effects of air pollution in general environment on male reproductive health are still scanty and not conclusive. In a study (Teplice program), Sram et al (1996Sram et al ( , 1999 observed that exposure to high levels of airborne fine particle pollution may be associated with transient decrements in the main sperm parameters, mainly morphology (Selevan et al, 2000), and with sperm DNA damage (Rubes et al, 2005). Also Adamopoulos et al (1996) observed a significant decline in seminal volume and total sperm number over a 17-year period in a homogeneous population living under the same continuously deteriorating environmental conditions.…”

Current concepts of human azoospermia and its causes

“…Numerous published studies have compared patients with male infertility (oligospermia or azoospermia) to healthy subjects (normal sperm count). To date, proposed risk factors include air temperature [10], automobile driving time per day [11], air pollution [12], regional differences in residential population density [13], mumps [14], stress [15], alcoholism [16] and smoking [17]. This has indicated a particular vulnerability of the fetal testis to toxicants-for instance, maternal tobacco smoking [18].…”