title: Intake of Fruits and Vegetables with Low-to-Moderate Pesticide Residues Is Positively Associated with Semen-Quality Parameters among Young Healthy Men.
abstract: Numerous studies have shown that occupational or environmental pesticide exposure can affect male fertility. There is less evidence, however, regarding any potentially adverse effects of pesticide residues in foods on markers of male fertility potential.
  
  
  
  We examined the relations between fruit and vegetable intake, considering pesticide residue status, and semen quality and serum concentrations of reproductive hormones in healthy young men.
  
  
  
  The Rochester Young Men's Study is a cross-sectional study that recruited men aged 18-22 y (n = 189) in Rochester, New York. Participants completed a questionnaire, provided a semen sample, had a blood sample drawn, and underwent a physical examination at enrollment. Semen samples were analyzed for total sperm count, sperm concentration, morphology, motility, ejaculate volume, total motile count, and total normal count. Dietary intake during the previous year was assessed by a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Fruit and vegetables were categorized as having high [Pesticide Residue Burden Score (PRBS) ≥4] or low-to-moderate (PRBS <4) pesticide residues on the basis of data from the USDA Pesticide Data Program. Linear regression models were used to analyze the associations of fruit and vegetable intake with semen variables and reproductive hormones while adjusting for potential confounding factors.
  
  
  
  The total intake of fruit and vegetables was unrelated to semen quality. However, the intake of fruit and vegetables with low-to-moderate pesticide residues was associated with a higher total sperm count and sperm concentration, whereas the intake of fruit and vegetables with high pesticide residues was unrelated to semen quality. On average, men in the highest quartile of low-to-moderate-pesticide fruit and vegetable intake (≥2.8 servings/d) had a 169% (95% CI: 45%, 400%) higher total sperm count and a 173% (95% CI: 57%, 375%) higher sperm concentration than did men in the lowest quartile (<1.1 servings/d; P-trend = 0.003 and 0.0005, respectively). The intake of fruit and vegetables, regardless of pesticide-residue status, was not associated with reproductive hormone concentrations.
  
  
  
  The consumption of fruit and vegetables with low-to-moderate pesticide residues was positively related to sperm counts in young men unselected by fertility status. This suggests that pesticide residues may modify the beneficial effects of fruit and vegetable intake on semen quality.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Nutrition, Epidemiology.
authors.forename: Yu-Han
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0904-7855
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Departments of Nutrition.
authors.forename: Audrey J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Gaskins
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and.
authors.forename: Paige L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Murcia School of Medicine, IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain;
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mendiola
authors.affiliation: University Department of Growth and Reproduction, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark;
authors.forename: Niels
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4827-0838
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.affiliation: Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hebrew University-Hadassah and the Hebrew University Center of Excellence in Agriculture and Environmental Health, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; and.
authors.forename: Hagai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA;
authors.forename: Russ
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; and.
authors.forename: Shanna H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Swan
authors.affiliation: Departments of Nutrition, Epidemiology, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Chavarro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009518:New York; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012661:Semen / Q000187:drug effects*; D055101:Semen Analysis; D013076:Sperm Count; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D010573:Pesticide Residues
keywords: diet; fruit and vegetables; pesticides; reproductive hormones; semen quality