Nighttime environmental noise and semen quality: A single fertility center cohort study

PLoS One. 2020 Nov 4;15(11):e0240689. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240689. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

With increased population and urban development, there are growing concerns regarding health impacts of environmental noise. We assessed the relationship between nighttime environmental noise and semen quality of men who visited for fertility evaluation. This is a retrospective cohort study of 1,972 male patient who had undertaken semen analysis between 2016-2018 at a single fertility center of Seoul, South Korea. We used environmental noise data of National Noise Information System (NNIS), Korea. Using semiannual nighttime noise measurement closest to the time of semen sampling, individual noise exposures at each patient's geocoded address were estimated with empirical Bayesian kriging method. We explored the association between environmental noise and semen quality indicators (volume, concentration, % of progressive motility, vitality, normal morphology, total motile sperm count, oligozoospermia, asthenozoospermia, and severe teratozoospermia) using multivariable regression and generalized additive models. Estimated exposure to nighttime environmental noise level in the study population was 58.3±2.2 Leq. Prevalence of oligozoospermia, asthenozoospermia, and severe teratozoospermia were 3.3%, 14.0%, and 10.1%. Highest quartile nighttime noise was associated with 3.5 times higher odds of oligozoospermia (95% CI: 1.18, 10.17) compared to lowest quartile. In men whose noise exposure is in 3rd quartile, odds ratio (OR) of severe teratozoospermia was 0.57 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.98). The OR for 4th quartile noise were toward null. In generalized additive model, the risk of oligozoospermia increases when the nighttime noise is 55 Leq dB or higher. Our study adds an evidence of potential impact of environmental noise on semen quality in men living in Seoul. Additional studies with more refined noise measurement will confirm the finding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Asthenozoospermia / diagnosis
  • Asthenozoospermia / epidemiology
  • Asthenozoospermia / physiopathology
  • Bayes Theorem
  • Cohort Studies
  • Fertility / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Infertility, Male / diagnosis
  • Infertility, Male / epidemiology
  • Infertility, Male / physiopathology
  • Male
  • Noise*
  • Oligospermia / diagnosis
  • Oligospermia / epidemiology
  • Oligospermia / physiopathology
  • Prevalence
  • Semen / cytology
  • Semen / physiology*
  • Semen Analysis / methods*
  • Seoul / epidemiology
  • Sperm Count
  • Sperm Motility / physiology
  • Spermatozoa / physiology*

Grants and funding

SAC received research fundings (NRF-2016R1D1A1B03933410 and 2018R1D1A1B07048821) from the National Research Foundation of Korea (https://www.nrf.re.kr) which is funded by Korean Government. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.