Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, the Faroes Hospital System, FO-100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.
Center of Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Faroe Islands, FO-100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Aug 30;15(9):1880. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15091880.
Semen quality may be adversely affected by exposure to environmental chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs) that are persistent and may act as endocrine disrupting compounds. The aim of this study was to explore whether PCBs or PFASs exposure were associated with abnormalities in semen quality or reproductive hormones in Faroese men. This population based cross-sectional study includes 263 Faroese men (24⁻26 years) who delivered a semen sample for assessment of sperm concentration, total sperm count, semen volume, morphology and motility. A blood sample was drawn and analyzed for reproductive hormones, PCBs and PFASs. Exposure to ∑PCBs and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was positively associated with sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and luteinizing hormone (LH). In addition, total testosterone (T) was positively associated with ∑PCB. Both PCBs and PFOS appear to lead to increased SHBG, perhaps mediated via the liver. The higher total T associated with PCB may represent a compensatory adaption to elevated SHBG levels to maintain an unchanged free testosterone concentration. The positive association to LH for both PCBs and PFOS may indicate a direct adverse effect on the testosterone producing Leydig cells.
精液质量可能会受到环境化学物质的影响，如多氯联苯（PCBs）和全氟烷基物质（PFASs），这些物质具有持久性，并可能作为内分泌干扰物发挥作用。本研究旨在探讨 PCBs 或 PFASs 的暴露是否与法罗群岛男性精液质量或生殖激素异常有关。这项基于人群的横断面研究包括 263 名法罗群岛男性（24-26 岁），他们提供了精液样本，用于评估精子浓度、总精子数、精液量、形态和活力。采集血液样本并分析生殖激素、PCBs 和 PFASs。∑PCBs 和全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）的暴露与性激素结合球蛋白（SHBG）和黄体生成素（LH）呈正相关。此外，总睾酮（T）与∑PCB 呈正相关。PCBs 和 PFOS 似乎都会导致 SHBG 升高，这可能是通过肝脏介导的。与 PCB 相关的总 T 升高可能代表了对升高的 SHBG 水平的一种代偿性适应，以维持不变的游离睾酮浓度。PCBs 和 PFOS 对 LH 的正相关可能表明对产生睾酮的睾丸间质细胞有直接的不良影响。
