Abstract
Hypogonadism is an endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate serum testosterone production by the Leydig cells of the testis. It is triggered by alterations in the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is another common disorder in men that involves an alteration in erectile response–organic, relational, or psychological. The incidence of hypogonadism and ED is common in men aged over 40 years. Hypogonadism (including late-onset hypogonadism) and ED may be linked to several environmental factors-induced oxidative stresses. The factors mainly include exposure to pesticides, radiation, air pollution, heavy metals and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These environmental risk factors may induce oxidative stress and lead to hormonal dysfunctions. To better understand the subject, the study used many keywords, including “hypogonadism”, “late-onset hypogonadism”, “testosterone”, “erectile dysfunction”, “reactive oxygen species”, “oxidative stress”, and “environmental pollution” in major online databases, such as SCOPUS and PUBMED to extract relevant scientific information. Based on these parameters, this review summarizes a comprehensive insight into the important environmental issues that may have a direct or indirect association with hypogonadism and ED in men. The study concludes that environmental factors-induced oxidative stress may cause infertility in men. The hypothesis and outcomes were reviewed critically, and the mechanistic approaches are applied through oxidant-sensitive pathways. This study also provides reccomendations on future therapeutic interventions and protective measures against such adverse environmental factors-induced hypogonadism and ED.
Highlights
Hypogonadism is an endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate serum testosterone production by the Leydig cells of the testis [1]
Sometimes considered as the male equivalent of female menopause, the age-related clinical and biochemical syndrome in men is termed as andropause [5], late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) [6], symptomatic late-onset hypogonadism (SLOH) [7], male climacteric, viropause, androgen deficiency in aging males (ADAM) [8], partial androgen deficiency in aging male (PADAM), and testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS) [9]
The following keyword strings and Boolean operators were used for the Scopus search: TITLE-ABS (“hypogonadism” OR “late-onset hypogonadism” OR “testosterone” OR “erectile dysfunction”) AND TITLE-ABS (“reactive oxygen species” OR “ROS” OR “oxidative stress”) AND TITLE-ABS
Summary
Hypogonadism is an endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate serum testosterone production by the Leydig cells of the testis [1]. A high prevalence of hypogonadism has been reported with life and work stresses [10] Another common male sexual disorder is ED that involves an alteration in any of the components of erectile response–organic, relational, and psychological [10]. ED and vasculogenic ED [22] Environmental factors, such as pesticides, radiation, air pollutants, agents originated from plastics, and other endocrine disruptors, are important contributing determinants of hypogonadism and ED. These stressors follow several mechanisms, including stimulation of ROS production, which, in turn, creates a state of oxidative stress in the reproductive tissues leading to the above-mentioned andrological problems. We have attempted to provide a comprehensive insight into the probable mechanisms, the oxidant-sensitive pathways through which these stressors exert their pathological impacts
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