Exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and European populations
BACKGROUND Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have been suspected to adversely affect human reproductive health. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between PFC exposure and male semen quality. METHODS PFCs were measured in serum from 588 partners of pregnant women from Greenland,...
Published in: | Human Reproduction |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Oxford University Press
2012
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/27/8/2532 https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des185 |
id |
fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:humrep:27/8/2532 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:humrep:27/8/2532 2023-05-15T15:10:43+02:00 Exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and European populations Toft, G. Jönsson, B.A.G. Lindh, C.H. Giwercman, A. Spano, M. Heederik, D. Lenters, V. Vermeulen, R. Rylander, L. Pedersen, H.S. Ludwicki, J.K. Zviezdai, V. Bonde, J.P. 2012-08-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/27/8/2532 https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des185 en eng Oxford University Press http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/27/8/2532 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des185 Copyright (C) 2012, European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Reproductive epidemiology TEXT 2012 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des185 2012-07-20T15:16:10Z BACKGROUND Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have been suspected to adversely affect human reproductive health. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between PFC exposure and male semen quality. METHODS PFCs were measured in serum from 588 partners of pregnant women from Greenland, Poland and Ukraine who provided a semen sample, using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) could be detected in >97% of the samples. The associations between levels of these compounds and semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, motility and morphology were assessed. RESULTS Across countries, sperm concentration, total sperm count and semen volume were not consistently associated with PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS or PFNA levels. The proportion of morphologically normal cells was 35% lower [95% confidence interval (CI): 4–66%) for the third tertile of PFOS exposure as compared with the first. A similar reduction was found in relation to increasing PFHxS levels. At the third PFOA exposure tertile, the percentage of motile spermatozoa was 19% (95% CI: 1 to 39%) higher than in the first. CONCLUSIONS The most robust finding in the present study was the negative associations between PFOS exposure and sperm morphology suggesting adverse effects of PFOS on semen quality, possibly due to interference with the endocrine activity or sperm membrane function. It cannot be excluded that this association and the positive association between PFOA and semen motility, which was not consistent across countries, might represent a chance finding due to the multiple statistical tests being performed. Text Arctic Greenland HighWire Press (Stanford University) Arctic Greenland Human Reproduction 27 8 2532 2540 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
op_collection_id |
fthighwire |
language |
English |
topic |
Reproductive epidemiology |
spellingShingle |
Reproductive epidemiology Toft, G. Jönsson, B.A.G. Lindh, C.H. Giwercman, A. Spano, M. Heederik, D. Lenters, V. Vermeulen, R. Rylander, L. Pedersen, H.S. Ludwicki, J.K. Zviezdai, V. Bonde, J.P. Exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and European populations |
topic_facet |
Reproductive epidemiology |
description |
BACKGROUND Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have been suspected to adversely affect human reproductive health. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between PFC exposure and male semen quality. METHODS PFCs were measured in serum from 588 partners of pregnant women from Greenland, Poland and Ukraine who provided a semen sample, using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) could be detected in >97% of the samples. The associations between levels of these compounds and semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, motility and morphology were assessed. RESULTS Across countries, sperm concentration, total sperm count and semen volume were not consistently associated with PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS or PFNA levels. The proportion of morphologically normal cells was 35% lower [95% confidence interval (CI): 4–66%) for the third tertile of PFOS exposure as compared with the first. A similar reduction was found in relation to increasing PFHxS levels. At the third PFOA exposure tertile, the percentage of motile spermatozoa was 19% (95% CI: 1 to 39%) higher than in the first. CONCLUSIONS The most robust finding in the present study was the negative associations between PFOS exposure and sperm morphology suggesting adverse effects of PFOS on semen quality, possibly due to interference with the endocrine activity or sperm membrane function. It cannot be excluded that this association and the positive association between PFOA and semen motility, which was not consistent across countries, might represent a chance finding due to the multiple statistical tests being performed. |
format |
Text |
author |
Toft, G. Jönsson, B.A.G. Lindh, C.H. Giwercman, A. Spano, M. Heederik, D. Lenters, V. Vermeulen, R. Rylander, L. Pedersen, H.S. Ludwicki, J.K. Zviezdai, V. Bonde, J.P. |
author_facet |
Toft, G. Jönsson, B.A.G. Lindh, C.H. Giwercman, A. Spano, M. Heederik, D. Lenters, V. Vermeulen, R. Rylander, L. Pedersen, H.S. Ludwicki, J.K. Zviezdai, V. Bonde, J.P. |
author_sort |
Toft, G. |
title |
Exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and European populations |
title_short |
Exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and European populations |
title_full |
Exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and European populations |
title_fullStr |
Exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and European populations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and European populations |
title_sort |
exposure to perfluorinated compounds and human semen quality in arctic and european populations |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/27/8/2532 https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des185 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
op_relation |
http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/27/8/2532 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des185 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2012, European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des185 |
container_title |
Human Reproduction |
container_volume |
27 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
2532 |
op_container_end_page |
2540 |
_version_ |
1766341688311152640 |