Gaseous pollutant exposure affects semen quality in central China: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Limited studies have explored the association between gaseous pollutant exposures and male reproductive outcomes, and findings remained inconsistent. Toevaluate the potential association betweengaseous pollutantsand semen quality within different exposure windows. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS: We adopted semen quality data of 1852 subjects who attended the Reproductive Medicine Center of Renmin Hospital at Wuhan University during January 1st, 2013, to August 3rd, 2015. A generalized linear model was employed to assess the relationship between each exposure variable and sperm parameters in different exposure windows. SO2 exposure with lag0-90days was significantly associated with decreased sperm concentration (β: -1.362; 95% CI: -1.844, -0.879), sperm count (β: -2.979; 95% CI: -4.267, -1.691), and PR (β: -0.551; 95% CI: -0.710, -0.393). Similar trends were observed for SO2 exposure with three other key periods (lag 0-9, 10-14, and 70-90days). NO2 exposure with lag0-90days was also associated with decreased sperm concentration (β: -0.517; 95% CI: -1.006, -0.027), sperm count (β: -1.914; 95% CI: -3.214, -0.615), and PR (β: -0.264; 95% CI: -0.425, -0.102). No relationship between gaseous pollutant exposure and ejaculate volume was observed in any exposure window. Our study indicated a strong adverse effect of gaseous pollutants on semen quality outcomes during the sperm development. Gaseous pollution exposure appeared to be more detrimental in the initial phase of spermatogenesis.