Spermaturia and serum hormone concentrations at the age of puberty in boys prenatally exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with possible hormone-disrupting effects is capable of affecting sexual differentiation in boys at the age of puberty. Design: Following analysis for PCB in their umbilical cords, 196 boys from a Faroese birth cohort were examined for the development of puberty at 14 years of age. Methods: Physical examination included determination of Tanner stages and testicular size. A morning urine sample was centrifuged and examined for the presence of sperm. Serum was analyzed for sex hormones. Results Twenty boys (10.2%) had abnormalities in testicular development, mainly cryptorchidism. Only three of them had a positive spermaturia test, but the level of exposure to PCBs in this group had not been increased. Occurrence of spermaturia in 58 of the remaining 176 boys was also not associated with PCB exposure but showed highly significant associations with Tanner stages and testicular size. Serum concentrations of testosterone, FSH and LH were higher in boys with spermaturia, while sex hormone-binding globulin was lower and no difference occurred in inhibin B. Serum hormone parameters showed only weak associations with the level of prenatal PCB exposure. Conclusions: These findings support the validity of spermaturia as a useful indicator of puberty, although a substantial rate of false negatives must be taken into account. Despite the wide range of exposure to PCB, the findings did not reveal any definite associations with the development of puberty. However, because of the limited size of the cohort, small effects cannot be excluded.

Female sexual maturation and reproduction after prepubertal exposure to estrogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals: A review of rodent and human data

“…Similar results were found in a boy cohort (196 boys) from Faroe Islands, i.e. no association of PCB exposure to the timing of puberty (Mol et al, 2002). In Yucheng, 55 boys who were accidentally exposed to high PCB and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) levels were reported to have shorter penile length than the control boys at the same age, suggesting pubertal delay (Guo et al, 2004).…”

Internal exposure to pollutants and sexual maturation in Flemish adolescents

“…Delayed initiation of breast development was found in girls with higher prenatal dioxin exposure . In several other studies, no significant association was found between exposure to persistent chlorinated compounds and timing of puberty, in girls (Blanck et al, 2000;Gladen et al, 2000;Vasiliu et al, 2004) or in boys (Gladen et al, 2000;Mol et al, 2002).…”

Biomarkers for assessing reproductive development and health: Part 1--Pubertal development.

“…This conclusion was obtained from spermaturia studies in two normal boys with testicular volumes of 3 mL and no other signs of puberty and indicates that the definition of start of puberty as testicular volumes of 4 mL or more may be too rigorous. Mol et al (2002) discovered highly significant associations between spermaturia and both Tanner stage and testicular size, hence supporting the validity of spermaturia as a useful indicator of puberty. They did, however, find that a substantial rate of false negatives are likely to be included using this method.…”