Infertility in a Cohort of Male Danish Firefighters: A Register-Based Study

Petersen, Kajsa Ugelvig; Hansen, Johnni; Ebbehoej, Niels Erik; Bonde, Jens Peter

doi:10.1093/aje/kwy235

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In 2018 there were over 1.1 million estimated firefighters in the United States (US), 8% of whom were women [ 1 ]. Firefighters face specific occupational exposures (toxic substances and physical hazards) that may influence risk of adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular diseases [ 2 ], respiratory diseases [ 3 ], certain cancers [ 4 , 5 ], and infertility [ 6 ]. Firefighter research to date has been restricted primarily to male firefighters, and the health of women firefighters is critically understudied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational factors and miscarriages in the US fire service: a cross-sectional analysis of women firefighters

Jung

Jahnke²,

Dennis

et al. 2021

Environ Health

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Background Evidence from previous studies suggests that women firefighters have greater risk of some adverse reproductive outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether women firefighters had greater risk of miscarriage compared to non-firefighters and whether there were occupational factors associated with risk of miscarriage among firefighters. Methods We studied pregnancies in the United States fire service using data from the Health and Wellness of Women Firefighters Study (n = 3181). We compared the prevalence of miscarriage among firefighters to published rates among non-firefighters using age-standardized prevalence ratios. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between occupational factors (employment (career/volunteer), wildland firefighter status (wildland or wildland-urban-interface/structural), shift schedule, fire/rescue calls at pregnancy start) and risk of miscarriage, adjusted for age at pregnancy, education, gravidity, BMI, and smoking. We evaluated if associations varied by age at pregnancy or employment. Results Among 1074 firefighters and 1864 total pregnancies, 404 pregnancies resulted in miscarriages (22%). Among most recent pregnancies, 138 resulted in miscarriage (13%). Compared to a study of US nurses, firefighters had 2.33 times greater age-standardized prevalence of miscarriage (95% CI 1.96–2.75). Overall, we observed that volunteer firefighters had an increased risk of miscarriage which varied by wildland status (interaction p-value< 0.01). Among structural firefighters, volunteer firefighters had 1.42 times the risk of miscarriage (95% CI 1.11–1.80) compared to career firefighters. Among wildland/wildland-urban-interface firefighters, volunteer firefighters had 2.53 times the risk of miscarriage (95% CI 1.35–4.78) compared to career firefighters. Conclusions Age-standardized miscarriage prevalence among firefighters may be greater than non-firefighters and there may be variation in risk of miscarriage by fire service role. Further research is needed to clarify these associations to inform policy and decision-making.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational factors and miscarriages in the US fire service: a cross-sectional analysis of women firefighters

Jung

Jahnke²,

Dennis

et al. 2021

Environ Health

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“…An increased risk of infertility has been reported in full-time firefighters ( 33 ), as their occupational setting is associated with exposure to a complex mixture of chemicals, including those known to be ED such as flame retardants, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as well as with hyperthermia, stress, and circadian rhythm disturbances due to night-shift work. Of special interest is exposure to per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) as the main constituent of aqueous film-forming firefighting foams ( 34 ).…”

Section: Occupational Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and occupational exposures associated with male infertility

Marić

Fučić

Aghayanian

2021

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

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The upsurge in male infertility over the last two decades, possibly due to environmental exposure, has raised significant interest, particularly boosted by reports from fertility clinics, which showed that chronic diseases and hereditary or other medical conditions might only partially explain current incidence of male infertility. Both environmental and occupational settings may have a significant role in exposure to complex mixtures of endocrine disruptors (ED), which play a major role in fertility disorders. The aim of this review is to give an insight into the current knowledge on exposure settings which may be associated with male infertility. Our study relied on a systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles published between January 2000 and September 2020. It showed that some well documented factors associated with male infertility include smoking, and physiological disturbances or chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, which in turn, may also reflect lifestyle choices and environmental exposures, especially to EDs such as phthalates, bisphenols, pesticides, and flame retardants. However, the number of studies on the aetiology of male infertility is still too low in comparison with the size of affected population. Occupational health follow-ups and medical surveillance do not collect any data on male infertility, even though ED chemicals are part of many technological processes.

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“…Potential reproductive health risks identified as possibly contributing to increased maternal complications include chemical, biological, and radiologic exposures from responding to incidents [5,[7][8][9], as well as non-exposure related risks, such as the unique shift schedules common in the fire service, the extreme physiologic strain of emergency responses, and working in situations with high ambient temperatures and noise volumes [7]. Reproductive health is an emerging area of concern for firefighters, both men and women [10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Examination of Occupational Exposures and Reproductive Health among Women Firefighters: A Literature Review

2023

ARCH Women Health Care

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This review identifies and summarizes the current state of the literature on the reproductive health of women firefighters. Several alarming exposures were noted including chemical, biological, and non-chemical occupational risk factors. The existing literature supports an association between firefighting and higher rates of miscarriage, birth defects, labor and delivery difficulties, fetal mortality, possible fertility issues, and newborn health complications (e.g., jaundice, low birth weight). A significant gap in the literature was identified despite the growing concern among women firefighters regarding reproductive health, signaling the crucial need for further research. Consequently, the lack of research has precipitated uncertainty concerning appropriate firefighting duties during pregnancy and safe return to work post-partum, leading to an absence of effective policy and, in some cases, no policy within fire departments.

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Infertility in a Cohort of Male Danish Firefighters: A Register-Based Study

Cited by 15 publications

References 17 publications

Occupational factors and miscarriages in the US fire service: a cross-sectional analysis of women firefighters

Occupational factors and miscarriages in the US fire service: a cross-sectional analysis of women firefighters

Environmental and occupational exposures associated with male infertility

An Examination of Occupational Exposures and Reproductive Health among Women Firefighters: A Literature Review

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