Objective
Assess the relation between environmental chemicals and couple fecundity or time-to-pregnancy (TTP).
Design
Prospective cohort.
Setting
Couples completed interviews and anthropometric assessments and provided urine specimens for quantification of bisphenol A (BPA) and 14 phthalate metabolites using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer. Women recorded menstruation and pregnancy test results in daily journals. Couples were followed until a positive hCG pregnancy test or 12 cycles without pregnancy.
Patients
501 couples recruited upon discontinuing contraception to become pregnant, 2005–2009.
Interventions
None
Main Outcome
Fecundability odds ratios (FORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for each partner’s chemical concentrations adjusting for age, body mass index, cotinine, creatinine, and research site while accounting for time off contraception.
Results
Neither female nor male BPA concentration was associated with TTP (FOR 0.98; 95% CI 0.86, 1.13 and FOR 1.04; 95% CI 0.91, 1.18, respectively). Men’s urinary concentrations of monomethyl, mono-n-butyl and monobenzyl phthalates were associated with a longer TTP (FOR=0.80, 95% CI 0.70, 0.93; FOR=0.82, 0.70, 0.97; and FOR=0.77, 0.65–0.92, respectively).
Conclusions
Select male but not female phthalate exposures were associated with an approximately 20% reduction in fecundity underscoring the importance of assessing both partners’ exposure to minimize erroneous conclusions.