Sperm quality and ambient air pollution exposure: A retrospective, cohort study in a Southern province of China

Huang, Guanhao; Zhang, Qin; Wu, Haisheng; Wang, Qiling; Chen, Yuliang; Guo, Pi; Zhao, Qingguo

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109756

Cited by 49 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…close to a major road, and is associated with higher risk of subfecundity [23] or male infertility [24]. Air pollution is also reported to be related to semen abnormality [10,25]. Although the strength of association with exposures is heterogenous across different semen indicators, the results of this study suggest a potential impact of the neighborhood's physical environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Built Environment and Semen Quality in Korean Men with a History of Infertility: A Cross-Sectional Study

Choe

Kim

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: There is growing interest in the potential impact of the physical environment on human fertility. This study aimed to explore the association between built environment and semen parameters among men who sought fertility evaluation . Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 5,886 men living in the Seoul Capital Area whose semen was tested at a single fertility center during 2016–2018. Environmental exposures evaluated were distance to fresh water (river and lake), the coast, major roadways, and neighborhood greenness measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Outcome indicators were semen volume, sperm concentration, percentage of progressive motility, vitality, normal morphology, and total motile sperm count. We used linear regression to model standardized values of six semen quality indicators.Results: Majority of the study population (mean age 39 years) were white-collar workers, clerks, and service workers. None of the mean values of semen quality indicators showed linear trends across quartiles of built environment components. Linear associations between built environment features and semen quality indicators were not evident except for NDVI within 500 m and sperm vitality (β = 0.05 per 0.1-increase; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01, 0.09). The 2nd quartile of distance to fresh water was associated with lower progressive motility compared to the 1st quartile (β = −0.10; 95% CI: −0.17, −0.03). Proportion of vitality was higher among men in the 2nd quartile of distance to roadways than those in the 1st quartile (0.08; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.15). Men in the 2nd quartile of NDVI showed higher total motile sperm count than those in the 1st quartile (0.09; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.17). In multi-exposure model, the positive association between NDVI and vitality remained (0.03, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.06). Conclusions: This study contributes potential evidence regarding the impact of built environment on male fertility ; specifically, a positive association between residential greenness and percentage of sperm vitality among Korean men with a history of infertility .

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Built Environment and Semen Quality in Korean Men with a History of Infertility: A Cross-Sectional Study

Choe

Kim

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Specifically, environmental noise at the nighttime is associated with higher risk of oligozoospermia [ 28 ]. Higher air pollution is also reported to be related to semen abnormality [ 15 , 36 ]. Although the strength of association with exposures is heterogenous across different semen indicators, the results of this study suggest a potential impact of the neighborhood’s physical environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land use and semen quality: A fertility center cohort study

Choe

Kim

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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This study explored the association between built environment and semen parameters among men who sought fertility evaluation. We used a data of 5,886 men living in the Seoul capital area whose semen was tested at a single fertility center during 2016–2018. Distance to fresh water, the coast, major roadways, and neighborhood greenness measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were evaluated. Outcome indicators were semen volume, sperm concentration, percentage of progressive motility, vitality, normal morphology, and total motile sperm count. Linear regression models were fitted to standardized values of six semen indicators. Majority of men were white-collar, clerical, and service workers. Linear associations between built environment features and semen quality indicators were not evident except for NDVI within 500 m and sperm vitality (β = 0.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01, 0.09). The 2nd quartile of distance to fresh water was associated with lower progressive motility compared to the 1st quartile (β = −0.10; 95% CI: −0.17, −0.03). Proportion of vitality was higher among men in the 2nd quartile of distance to roadways than those in the 1st quartile (0.08; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.15). Men in the 2nd quartile of NDVI had higher total motile sperm count (0.09; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.17). In the multi-exposure model, the positive association between NDVI and vitality remained (0.03; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.06). We observed potential evidence regarding the impact of built environment on male fertility, specifically a positive association between residential greenness and sperm vitality among men with a history of infertility.

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“…Recent investigations on air pollution and semen quality have indicated that exposure to air pollutants, such as PM 2.5 , is likely linked with the declining trends in semen quality ( Deng et al, 2016 ; Hammoud et al, 2010 ; Hansen et al, 2010 ), as indicated by clinically assessed sperm quantity and quality ( Dias et al, 2019 ). The duration of spermatogenesis, or sperm development, is about 90 days ( Clermont, 1963 ), during which exposure to ambient pollutants has been linked to changes in semen quality parameters ( Huang et al, 2020 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nearly three-month (90-day) lockdown period in China due to the COVID-19 epidemic provides a study opportunity to investigate the relationship between ambient pollutant exposure during sperm development (a 90-day process) and semen quality. Previous studies on pollution exposure and semen quality mostly analyzed the average exposure during entire spermatogenesis ( Huang et al, 2020 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2020 ), with limited investigation focused on specific exposure windows within the spermatogenesis period. There are three key periods in the entire spermatogenesis (90-day), namely epididymis storage (in cauda epididymidis), development of sperm motility (in caput epididymidis), spermatocytogenesis (in seminiferous tubule) ( Huang et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies on pollution exposure and semen quality mostly analyzed the average exposure during entire spermatogenesis ( Huang et al, 2020 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2020 ), with limited investigation focused on specific exposure windows within the spermatogenesis period. There are three key periods in the entire spermatogenesis (90-day), namely epididymis storage (in cauda epididymidis), development of sperm motility (in caput epididymidis), spermatocytogenesis (in seminiferous tubule) ( Huang et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2019 ). To the best of our knowledge, there were only a few studies that considered these three sperm development stages as separate exposure periods ( Huang et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Semen quality and windows of susceptibility: A case study during COVID-19 outbreak in China

Yang

Deng

Sun

et al. 2021

Environmental Research

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Background To evaluate the impact of air pollution exposure on semen quality parameters during COVID-19 outbreak in China, and to identify potential windows of susceptibility for semen quality. Methods A retrospective observational study was carried out on 1991 semen samples collected between November 23, 2019 and July 23, 2020 (a period covering COVID-19 lock-down in China) from 781 sperm donor candidates at University-affiliated Sichuan Provincial Human Sperm Bank. Multivariate mixed-effects regression models were constructed to investigate the relationship between pollution exposure, windows of susceptibility, and semen quality, while controlling for biographic and meteorologic confounders. Result(s) The results indicated multiple windows of susceptibility for semen quality, especially sperm motility, due to ambient pollution exposure. Exposure to particulate matters (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ), O 3 and NO 2 during late stages of spermatogenesis appeared to have weak but positive association with semen quality. Exposure to CO late in sperm development appeared to have inverse relationship with sperm movement parameters. Exposure to SO 2 appeared to influence semen quality throughout spermatogenesis. Conclusion(s) Potential windows of susceptibility for semen quality varied depending on air pollutants. Sperm motility was sensitive to pollution exposure. Findings from current study further elucidate the importance of sensitive periods during spermatogenesis and provide new evidence for the determinants of male fertility.

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Sperm quality and ambient air pollution exposure: A retrospective, cohort study in a Southern province of China

Cited by 49 publications

References 37 publications

Built Environment and Semen Quality in Korean Men with a History of Infertility: A Cross-Sectional Study

Built Environment and Semen Quality in Korean Men with a History of Infertility: A Cross-Sectional Study

Land use and semen quality: A fertility center cohort study

Semen quality and windows of susceptibility: A case study during COVID-19 outbreak in China

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