A recent Scientific Reports study investigates environmental and occupational aspects that affect semen quality.
Study: Association of living environmental and occupational aspects with semen quality in Chinese men: A cross-sectional study. Image Credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com
Background
A decrease in birth rates and a rise in infertility have been recorded globally. In China, for instance, the infertility rate has been estimated to be 12.5% and rising.
Infertility is defined as failure to conceive after 12 months of normal and unprotected sexual activity. In roughly 40% of infertile couples, men were found to be answerable for the condition.
Male fertility is related to environmental, genetic, and occupational aspects. Since most men seldom change their living environment and proceed the identical job for prolonged years, they are sometimes exposed to the identical aspects which will contribute to their infertility. Thus, along with genetic predisposition, assessing the occupational and environmental aspects linked to male fertility is imperative.
Previous studies have indicated that folks engaged within the transportation business have low semen motility. These studies have also highlighted that folks near toxic chemicals, particularly those that work within the printing and oil industries, exhibit poor fertility.
Nevertheless, some studies haven’t reported any association between semen quality and occupation. These contradictory views indicate the necessity for more research to substantiate whether certain occupations affect semen quality in men.
Living environments have been linked to male fertility. For instance, the extent of cellular telephones has been negatively correlated with sperm motility and concentration. House renovating was linked to using ammonia, benzene, and formaldehyde, which may affect semen quality.
A single fertility center cohort study also indicated that environmental noise is linked with sperm abnormality.
In regards to the study
The present study assesses how environmental and occupational aspects influence male fertility. Three questionnaires based on demographic characteristics, living environmental aspects, and occupational effects were developed considering the living habits of typical Chinese people.
Couples who attended free pre-pregnancy medical examinations at Guangzhou Women and Kid’s Medical Center in China were recruited for the study. Male partners with a medical history of infertility-related diseases akin to cryptorchidism, azoospermia, or varicocele were excluded. Male participants who were obese or chubby were also not considered on this study.
A complete of 465 male partners between 31 and 43 years of age were considered for the study. Along with completing the three lifestyle questionnaires, physical examinations and semen evaluation were conducted on the identical day.
All participants were requested to abstain from sexual intercourse for not less than three to seven days from the date of research. Semen quality assessment comprised evaluation of semen pH, volume, count, concentration, progressive motility, and total motility.
Study findings
The mean age of the participants was 37.5 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.85 kg/m2. About 21% of the participants were alcohol consumers, and 9% were smokers. All study participants had everlasting jobs.
Individuals who lived near power lines and substations had higher sperm counts and greater sperm progressive motility. These findings indicate that electric field energy may positively influence semen quality; nevertheless, its actual effects should be further studied.
Comparatively, individuals living near chemical factories exhibited poor semen concentration. These observations corroborate previous reports that industrial chemicals have a harmful effect on semen quality.
Typically, multiple aspects damage human fertility step by step in a cumulative way. Normally, people don’t take individual aspects seriously unless problems of infertility occur. It is crucial that the pregnancy consultation clinics understand these environmental and occupational aspects before offering proper treatment.
Conclusions
The present study has some limitations, including the assessment of only the Southern Chinese population. Since other ethnic groups weren’t included, the generalizability of those findings is restricted.
A further limitation is that the present study only examined epidemiological risk aspects and didn’t consider specific substances which will contribute to male infertility. There may be a high possibility of interference of confounding aspects akin to sleep duration inside a day, economic condition, and dietary structure, all of which weren’t considered on this evaluation.
Despite these limitations, the study findings highlight that certain environmental and occupational aspects akin to computer use, working in an influence line, transformer room, substation, and chemical plants, and certain house renovating products influence semen quality. In the long run, similar studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate these findings.
Journal reference:
- Mai, H., Ke, J., Li, M., et al. (2023) Association of living environmental and occupational aspects with semen quality in chinese men: A cross-sectional study. Scientific Reports 13(1);1-15. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-42927-z