Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and 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 Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, PR China.
Environ Pollut. 2016 Apr;211:173-82. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.12.052. Epub 2016 Jan 14.
Exposure to phthalates has been found to have adverse effects on male reproductive function in animals. However, the findings from human studies are inconsistent. Here we examined the associations of phthalate exposure with semen quality and reproductive hormones in a Chinese population using phthalate metabolite concentrations measured in semen as biomarkers. Semen (n = 687) and blood samples (n = 342) were collected from the male partners of sub-fertile couples who presented to the Reproductive Center of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China. Semen quality parameters and serum reproductive hormone levels were determined. Semen concentrations of 8 phthalate metabolites were assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Associations of the semen phthalate metabolites with semen quality parameters and serum reproductive hormones were assessed using confounder-adjusted linear and logistic regression models. Semen phthalate metabolites were significantly associated with decreases in semen volume [mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP)], sperm curvilinear velocity [monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), MEHP, the percentage of di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate metabolites excreted as MEHP (%MEHP)], and straight-line velocity (MBzP, MEHP, %MEHP), and also associated with an increased percentage of abnormal heads and tails (MBzP) (all p for trend <0.05). These associations remained suggestive or significant after adjustment for multiple testing. There were no significant associations between semen phthalate metabolites and serum reproductive hormones. Our findings suggest that environmental exposure to phthalates may impair human semen quality.
动物研究表明，邻苯二甲酸酯暴露对男性生殖功能有不良影响。然而，人体研究的结果并不一致。在这里，我们使用精液中测定的邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物浓度作为生物标志物，在中国人群中检查了邻苯二甲酸酯暴露与精液质量和生殖激素的关系。从武汉同济医院生殖中心就诊的不育夫妇的男性伴侣中收集了精液（n=687）和血液样本（n=342）。测定精液质量参数和血清生殖激素水平。使用高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定 8 种邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物的精液浓度。使用混杂因素调整的线性和逻辑回归模型评估精液邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物与精液质量参数和血清生殖激素的关系。精液邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物与精液量减少[单正丁基邻苯二甲酸酯（MBP）、单（2-乙基己基）邻苯二甲酸酯（MEHP）、单（2-乙基-5-羟基己基）邻苯二甲酸酯（MEHHP）、单（2-乙基-5-氧代己基）邻苯二甲酸酯（MEOHP）]、精子曲线速度[单苄基邻苯二甲酸酯（MBzP）、MEHP、以 MEHP 形式排出的二-（2-乙基己基）邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物的百分比（%MEHP）]和直线速度（MBzP、MEHP、%MEHP）显著相关，也与异常头和尾的比例增加相关（MBzP）（所有趋势 p 值<0.05）。经过多次测试调整后，这些关联仍然具有提示意义或显著。精液邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物与血清生殖激素之间没有显著关联。我们的研究结果表明，环境暴露于邻苯二甲酸酯可能会损害人类精液质量。
