title: Phthalates exposure of Chinese reproductive age couples and its effect on male semen quality, a primary study.
abstract: Phthalates are suspected of having adverse effects on androgen-regulated reproductive development in animals and may be toxic for human sperm. The purposes of our study were to investigate the general exposure of a Chinese reproductive age cohort to these ubiquitous pollutants and to assess their potential effect on semen quality. Six phthalate metabolites, monomethyl phthalate (MMP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monobutyl phthalate (MBP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), and mono-2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl phthalate (MEOHP) were measured in spot urines of 150 individuals recruited from a Chongqing, China, reproductive institute. The questionnaire and clinical data were evaluated, and the correlations of phthalate exposure and semen qualities like semen volume, sperm concentration, motility and sperm motion parameters, were determined by multiple logistic regression analysis. The creatinine adjusted average concentrations for MMP, MEP, MBP, MBzP, MEHP and MEOHP were 41.3, 300, 41.0, 0.78, 2.99 and 3.90 μg/g, respectively. After adjustment for age, body mass index (BMI), abstinence, smoking, drinking, and education, there was a borderline-significant dose-response relationship between MBP and sperm concentration, with odd ratios (ORs) 1.0, 6.8 and 12.0 for increasing exposure tertiles (p=0.05). Although the dose-response relationships for MMP and MEP versus sperm concentration were not significant, a significant positive correlation between MEP and straight-line velocity of sperm motion was observed. The present data may imply some effects of phthalate exposure on semen. However, due to the small sample size, our finding needs to be confirmed on a larger population.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, PR China.
authors.forename: Liangpo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Huaqiong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Heqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004051:Diethylhexyl Phthalate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000139:chemically induced; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D012661:Semen / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D055101:Semen Analysis; D013076:Sperm Count; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010795:Phthalic Acids; C517284:monomethyl phthalate; C080276:mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl)phthalate; C032279:phthalic acid; D004051:Diethylhexyl Phthalate; C016599:mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate; C028577:monobutyl phthalate