title: Organophosphorous pesticide exposures and sperm quality.
abstract: Many Americans are exposed to low levels of organophosphorous (OP) pesticides. It is unclear whether these exposures impact sperm production. We investigated whether there was an association between urinary OP insecticide metabolites and sperm concentration and motility in newly married men from a rural area of eastern People's Republic of China. Ninety-four cases and 95 controls were included based on their median residual value of sperm concentration and motility after adjusting for relevant covariates. Their urine was analyzed for six dialkylphosphate (DAP) compounds. After adjustment for demographic and exposure variables, the odds of being a case were greater (odds ratio=1.30, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.65) in men with higher urinary concentrations of dimethylphosphate (DMP) compared to men with lower levels. No significant differences between cases and controls were found among the other DAP concentrations. DMP exposure and sperm concentration and motility should be explored further in environmental exposure studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. mperry@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Melissa J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Venners
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Genfu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Houxun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Dana Boyd
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Barr
authors.forename: Xiping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000652:urine; D010575:Pesticides / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000652:urine; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D010575:Pesticides