Lead exposure and semen quality among traffic police in Arequipa, Peru.
This study examined lead exposure (n = 43) and semen quality (n = 18) among traffic police officers in Arequipa, Peru, where leaded gasoline is used. Blood lead (PbB) was measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and semen was analyzed following World Health Organization (WHO) protocol. Mean PbB was 48.5 microg/dL. Although current PbB was associated with declines in several semen parameters (sperm morphology, concentration and total number of sperm), only sperm motility and viability differed significantly between the < or = 40 microg/dL and > 40 microg/dL categories, and decreased with increasing PbB in simple linear regression. Traffic police are an indicator group for excessive ambient lead exposure, and these results support earlier findings on the male reproductive toxicity of lead. The results should be interpreted cautiously since the numbers were small and the analysis was unable to control for all potential confounders due to incomplete data.
Eibensteiner
Lynn
L
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
Del Carpio Sanz
Ada
A
Frumkin
Howard
H
Gonzales
Carla
C
Gonzales
Gustavo F
GF
D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010568:Peru; D016495:Police; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013081:Sperm Motility; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000009:adverse effects*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D007854:Lead