Urinary inorganic arsenic concentrations and semen quality of male partners of subfertile couples in Tokyo

Abstract

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) has been known as a testicular toxicant in experimental rodents. Possible association between iAs exposure and semen quality (semen volume, sperm concentration, and sperm motility) was explored in male partners of couples (n = 42) who visited a gynecology clinic in Tokyo for infertility consultation. Semen parameters were measured according to WHO guideline at the clinic, and urinary iAs and methylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-hydride generation-ICP mass spectrometry. Biological attributes, dietary habits, and exposure levels to other chemicals with known effects on semen parameters were taken into consideration as covariates. Multiple regression analyses and logistic regression analyses did not find iAs exposure as significant contributor to semen parameters. Lower exposure level of subjects (estimated to be 0.5 μg kg(-1) day(-1)) was considered a reason of the absence of adverse effects on semen parameters, which were seen in rodents dosed with 4-7.5 mg kg(-1).

Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food

“…However, very wide confidence intervals clearly indicate the uncertainty in the risk estimates. Six additional studies were also evaluated but did not fulfil the inclusion criteria and were accordingly not considered further (Calogero et al, 2021;Oguri et al, 2016;Sengupta et al, 2013;Sukhn et al, 2018;Tian et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2012).…”

Drinking Water Arsenic and Adverse Reproductive Outcomes in Men and Women: A Systematic PRISMA Review

“…Most research reporting on male infertility was of cross-sectional or ecologic design, having the same methodological challenges as previously described. Arsenic exposure assessment was performed by analysing various metabolites in either urine [16,20,21,54,55], blood [56][57][58] or seminal plasma [57][58][59][60][61], and outcome specification varies greatly making comparisons complex. Findings are generally conflicting, and not consistent.…”

“…The existing literature based on human studies that have investigated the possible reproductive toxicity of arsenic in men is limited. Studies are primarily from ecological or cross-sectional design and results are equivocal [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. In animal studies, however, significantly lower testicular, epididymal and prostate weight, as well as significantly lower sperm motility and epididymal sperm count when exposed to arsenic through drinking water have been reported [22][23][24].…”

Transgenerational inheritance of abnormal spermatogenesis withIgf2/H19epigenetic alteration in CD1 mouse induced byin uteroarsenic exposure

“…Several studies have 55 reported that arsenic mainly impairs spermatogenesis via aberrant modulation of male 56 reproductive hormones, especially testosterone (Alamdar et al 2017). In humans, 57 arsenic exposure is associated with low semen quality (Oguri et al 2016), infertility 58 (Wang et al 2016), and erectile dysfunction in men (Hsieh et al 2008). There is 59 increasing evidence suggesting that in utero arsenic exposure poses a serious health 60 risk to the developing fetus and newborn (Quansah et al 2015;Shih et al 2017).…”