Associations of blood trihalomethanes with semen quality among 1199 healthy Chinese men screened as potential sperm donors

Ying-Jun Chen; Peng Duan; Tian-Qing Meng; Heng-Gui Chen; Jorge E Chavarro; Cheng-Liang Xiong; An Pan; Yi-Xin Wang; Wen-Qing Lu; Carmen Messerlian

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105335

Associations of blood trihalomethanes with semen quality among 1199 healthy Chinese men screened as potential sperm donors

Environ Int. 2020 Jan:134:105335. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105335. Epub 2019 Nov 26.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China.
² Center for Reproductive Medicine, Xiangyang No. 1 People's Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Xiangyang, Hubei, PR China.
³ Center for Reproductive Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China.
⁴ Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China. Electronic address: panan@hust.edu.cn.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: wangyx0203@163.com.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China. Electronic address: luwq@mails.tjmu.edu.cn.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

PMID: 31783240
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105335

Abstract

Background: Trihalomethanes (THMs) have demonstrated adverse effects on male reproductive systems in experimental animals, but human evidence has been inconsistent. Prior researches have been limited by small sample sizes and inadequate exposure assessment.

Objectives: To investigate the association between blood THMs and repeated measurements of semen quality parameters among 1199 healthy men screened as potential sperm donors.

Methods: We recruited healthy men presenting to the Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank from April to December 2017. At study entry, each participant provided a spot blood sample which was used to quantify blood concentrations of four THMs: chloroform (TCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM) and bromoform (TBM). The summary measures of exposure for brominated THMs (Br-THMs; molar sum of BDCM, DBCM and TBM) and total THMs (TTHMs; molar sum of TCM and Br-THMs) were also calculated. We used multivariable linear regression models to estimate the cross-sectional associations of tertiles of blood THM concentrations with semen quality parameters measured at study entry, and mixed-effect models to estimate the longitudinal associations accounting for repeated measures of semen quality, adjusting for relevant confounding factors.

Results: In the cross-sectional analysis, several inverse dose-response relationships were observed across tertiles of blood TCM concentrations and sperm count, total motility and progressive motility, and between blood DBCM, and Br-THMs, and TTHMs and sperm count and concentration. The inverse associations of blood TCM, DBCM, Br-THMs and TTHMs with sperm count were confirmed in the longitudinal, repeated measure analysis.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that exposure to THMs from drinking water may be related to decreased semen quality in young healthy men.

Keywords: Blood samples; Disinfection by-products; Epidemiology; Semen quality; Trihalomethanes.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Cross-Sectional Studies
Drinking Water / chemistry*
Humans
Male
Semen Analysis*
Spermatozoa / drug effects
Trihalomethanes / adverse effects
Trihalomethanes / blood*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / adverse effects
Water Pollutants, Chemical / blood*

Substances

Drinking Water
Trihalomethanes
Water Pollutants, Chemical