Endocrine disrupting chemicals in seminal plasma and couple fecundity

Journal Article · Tue May 15 04:00:00 EDT 2018 · Environmental Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENVRES.2018.01.028· OSTI ID:23095664

Sun, Liping ^[1]; Chen, Zhen ^[2]; Honda, Masato; Wang, Wei; Karthikraj, Rajendiran ^[3]; Weck, Jennifer ^[4]; Kannan, Kurunthachalam ^[3]

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1. Glotec, Inc., Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, The National Institutes of Health, 6710b Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States)
2. Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, The National Institutes of Health, 6710b Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States)
3. Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12201 (United States)
4. Office of the Director, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, The National Institutes of Health, 6710b Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States)

Highlights: • Non-persistent endocrine disruptors were detected and quantified in seminal plasma. • Concentrations were lower in seminal plasma than in urine. • Benzophenones were associated with reduced fecundability, but not significantly. • Bi-directional associations for other endocrine disruptors, but not significant. Growing evidence supports the importance of men's exposure to non-persistent endocrine disruptors (EDCs) and couple fecundability, as measured by time-to-pregnancy (TTP). This evolving literature contrasts with the largely equivocal findings reported for women's exposures and fecundity. While most evidence relies upon urinary concentrations, quantification of EDCs in seminal plasma may be more informative about potential toxicity arising within the testes. We analyzed 5 chemical classes of non-persistent EDCs in seminal plasma for 339 male partners of couples who were recruited prior to conception and who were followed daily until pregnant or after one year of trying. Benzophenones, bisphenols, parabens, and phthalate metabolites and phthalate diesters were measured using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) except for phthalate diesters, which were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Cox regression with discrete-time was used to estimate fecundability odds ratios (FORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each chemical to estimate the probability of pregnancy. While most EDCs were detected in seminal plasma, concentrations were lower than urinary concentrations previously analyzed for the cohort. None of the EDCs were significantly associated with fecundability even after covariate adjustment, though benzophenones consistently yielded FORs <1.0 (ranging from 0.72 to 0.91) in couple-adjusted models suggestive of diminished fecundity (longer TTP). The findings underscore that a range of EDCs can be quantified in seminal plasma, but the lower concentrations may require a large cohort for assessing couple fecundability, as well as the need to consider other fecundity outcomes such as semen quality.

• OSTI ID: 23095664
• Journal Information: Environmental Research, Journal Name: Environmental Research Vol. 163; ISSN ENVRAL; ISSN 0013-9351
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BENZOPHENONE
CONCENTRATION RATIO
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
METABOLITES
PHTHALATES
PREGNANCY
TESTES
TOXICITY
URINE