Ma Yubo, Hu Chengyang, Cai Guoqi, Xia Qing, Fan Dazhi, Cao Yunxia, Pan Faming
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China; The Key Laboratory of Major Autoimmune Diseases, 81 Meishan Road, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China; Department of Humanistic Medicine, School of Humanistic Medicine, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, China.
Environ Pollut. 2024 Feb 15;343:123200. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123200. Epub 2023 Dec 20.
The association between ambient fine particulate matter (PM) exposure and semen quality remains inconclusive, possibly due to variations in pollution sources and PM compositions. Studies investigating the constituents of PM have been hindered by small sample sizes, and research exploring the relationships between PM pollution sources and semen quality is lacking. To address this gap, we conducted a comprehensive study based on the Anhui prospective assisted reproduction cohort to evaluate the associations between semen quality and the constituents and pollution sources of PM. This study included 9013 semen samples from 4417 males in the urban districts of Hefei. The median concentrations of PM constituents, including eight metals and four water-soluble ions (WSIs), were measured for seven days per month at two monitoring stations during the 0-90-day exposure window. A linear mixed-effects model, weighted quantile sum regression, and positive matrix factorisation were used to evaluate the associations of the constituents and pollution sources of PM with semen quality. The results showed that exposure to PM-bound metals (antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and thallium) and WSIs (sulphate and chloride) were negatively associated with semen quality parameters. Moreover, mixtures of PM-bound metals and WSIs were negatively associated with semen quality. Additionally, PM derived from traffic emissions was negatively associated with semen quality. In summary, our study revealed that ambient PM and its constituents, especially metals, were negatively associated with semen quality. Antimony, lead, and thallium emerged as the primary contributors to toxicity, and PM from traffic emissions was associated with decreased semen quality. These findings have important public health implications for the management of PM pollution in the context of male reproductive health.
环境细颗粒物（PM）暴露与精液质量之间的关联尚无定论，这可能是由于污染源和PM成分存在差异所致。此前研究PM成分的相关研究因样本量小而受阻，且缺乏探索PM污染源与精液质量之间关系的研究。为填补这一空白，我们基于安徽前瞻性辅助生殖队列开展了一项综合研究，以评估精液质量与PM成分及污染源之间的关联。本研究纳入了来自合肥市区4417名男性的9013份精液样本。在0至90天的暴露窗口期内，每月在两个监测站对包括8种金属和4种水溶性离子（WSIs）在内的PM成分的中位数浓度进行7天的测量。采用线性混合效应模型、加权分位数和回归以及正定矩阵因子分解来评估PM成分及污染源与精液质量之间的关联。结果显示，暴露于与PM结合的金属（锑、砷、镉、铅和铊）以及WSIs（硫酸盐和氯化物）与精液质量参数呈负相关。此外，与PM结合的金属和WSIs的混合物与精液质量呈负相关。此外，源自交通排放的PM与精液质量呈负相关。总之，我们的研究表明，环境PM及其成分，尤其是金属，与精液质量呈负相关。锑、铅和铊是毒性的主要贡献因素，交通排放产生的PM与精液质量下降有关。这些发现对男性生殖健康背景下的PM污染管理具有重要的公共卫生意义。
