Larsen S B, Joffe M, Bonde J P
Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.
Occup Environ Med. 1998 Apr;55(4):278-83. doi: 10.1136/oem.55.4.278.
Circumstantial evidence suggests that organic farmers may have higher sperm count than other men, but comprehensive epidemiological studies of male fecundity among farmers have never been carried out. A substantial increase of sperm count is expected to translate into a shorter time to pregnancy--the number of menstrual cycles or months it takes a couple to get pregnant from discontinuation of birth control. Toxicological effects on spermatogenesis in humans and animals have been described after exposure to several pesticides. The aim of this study was to examine time to pregnancy among farmers who used pesticides (traditional farmers) and farmers who did not (organic farmers).
A total of 904 (84%) men, selected from the Danish Ministry of Agriculture lists of traditional and organic farmers, participated in telephone interviews. Information was collected on time to pregnancy for the youngest child, exposure to pesticides, and potential confounders.
With the discrete analogue of the Cox regression model (including potential confounders: male and female smoking, female age, parity, and contraceptive method), the fecundability ratio between traditional farmers who used pesticides and organic farmers was 1.03 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.75 to 1.40). In the group of farmers who sprayed with pesticides, none of the characteristics related to the use of pesticides could account for the variation in time to pregnancy.
No overall effect of pesticides on male fecundability was found in this retrospective study among Danish farmers. Also, we found no evidence of higher male fecundability in organic farmers.
有间接证据表明，有机农场主的精子数量可能高于其他男性，但从未对农场主的男性生育能力进行过全面的流行病学研究。精子数量的大幅增加预计会缩短受孕时间，即一对夫妇从停止避孕到怀孕所需的月经周期数或月数。接触多种农药后，已描述了对人类和动物精子发生的毒理学影响。本研究的目的是检查使用农药的农场主（传统农场主）和不使用农药的农场主（有机农场主）的受孕时间。
从丹麦农业部传统和有机农场主名单中选取了904名（84%）男性参与电话访谈。收集了关于最年幼孩子的受孕时间、农药接触情况和潜在混杂因素的信息。
采用Cox回归模型的离散模拟（包括潜在混杂因素：男性和女性吸烟、女性年龄、产次和避孕方法），使用农药的传统农场主与有机农场主之间的生育力比为1.03（95%置信区间（95%CI）0.75至1.40）。在喷洒农药的农场主群体中，与农药使用相关的特征均无法解释受孕时间的差异。
在这项针对丹麦农场主的回顾性研究中，未发现农药对男性生育力有总体影响。此外，我们也没有发现有机农场主男性生育力更高的证据。
