title: Increase male genital diseases morbidity linked to informal electronic waste recycling in Guiyu, China.
abstract: In recent years, occupational and environmental exposure to toxic pollutants has increasingly contributed to declining sperm quality and increasing morbidity of human male genital diseases. This study explored the effects of electronic waste (e-waste) environmental pollutions on male genital health in Guiyu, one of the largest e-waste recycling centers in the world. We collected outpatient case information from 2001 to 2009 in Guiyu and a control hospital and performed statistical analysis on male genital diseases morbidity (MGDM). The MGDM in Guiyu and the control hospital per thousand from 2004 to 2009 were 1.410/0.403 (2004), 0.539/0.385 (2005), 0.248/0.284 (2006), 0.485/0.195 (2007), 1.107/0.272 (2008), and 0.741/0.586 (2009) while the average total MGDM from 2004 to 2009 were 0.753 and 0.355 per thousand, respectively. Percentage of occurrence of epididymitis, impotence and prospermia, redundant prepuce, gonorrhea, urethritis, sexual function dysfunction, azoospermia, asthenospermia, and unknown etiology male sterility were higher in Guiyu (P < 0.05), whereas the frequency of prostatitis, condyloma accuminatum, and genital herpes were higher in the control (P < 0.05). Morbidity of male genital diseases was higher in Guiyu than in the control area. Male reproductive health may be threatened by e-waste environmental pollution in Guiyu, especially for diseases that could be influenced by environmental factors, and it may influence local population diathesis.
authors.affiliation: Analytical Cytology Laboratory, Provincial Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Immunopathology, Shantou University Medical College, 22 Xinling Rd, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xijin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yuling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Taofeek Akangbe
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Yekeen
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Bingrong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D059029:Electronic Waste; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005832:Genital Diseases, Male / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059027:Recycling; D055815:Young Adult