Semen quality and sperm DNA integrity in city policemen exposed to polluted air in an urban industrial agglomeration

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00027162%3A_____%2F21%3AN0000152" target="_blank" >RIV/00027162:_____/21:N0000152 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463921001504" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463921001504</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113835" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113835</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Semen quality and sperm DNA integrity in city policemen exposed to polluted air in an urban industrial agglomeration

Original language description

We examined sperm quality in a cohort of city policemen in Ostrava at the end of a period with high concentrations of air pollutants (winter) and in the same cohort at the end of a relatively low exposure period (summer). The study group was comprised of 54 nonsmoking city policemen living and working in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Average daily air-pollutant concentrations recorded by stationary monitoring for 90 days preceding the collection of semen samples were evaluated for different city districts of Ostrava. Standard semen parameters were assessed according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (2010). The parameters were semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm morphology, sperm motility, acrosome reaction and sperm plasma membrane integrity. Sperm DNA damage was analysed by the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA). Sperm motion characteristics were determined by Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASA). The concentrations of all monitored pollutants (particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, benzo[a]pyrene, benzene) were significantly increased during winter (p < 0.001), except for ozone, the concentration of which was significantly higher during summer. Sperm volume, concentration, % vitality, % sperm morphology (normal form) and % acrosome-intact sperm did not differ significantly between the monitoring periods. The percentages of total motility and progressive motility were significantly higher in March, i.e. at the end of winter (p = 0.001). However, CASA testing showed differences in sperm motion kinetics between spring and autumn samples. In the spring samples, we found a significantly lower % of straightness (p = 0.044) and the length of straight-line path (p = 0.01), while linearity and straight-line velocity were near the borderline value (p = 0.064; p = 0.054, respectively). As compared to summer, high exposure to air pollution during winter significantly increased the extent of sperm chromatin integrity damage (median 22.6 vs. 18.6%) (p = 0.003) and the proportion of immature spermatozoa (median 11.2 vs. 9.9%, p = 0.001). Sperm DNA damage negatively correlated with total motility and progressive motility (r = −0.611, −0.299; p < 0.001). The negative correlation with vitality, normal morphology and acrosome-intact sperm (r = −0.522, −0.550 and −0.511, respectively) was also significant (p < 0.001). The examination of the same cohort of city policemen at the end of a period of high air pollution and at the end of relatively low exposure reduced the effects of age, different lifestyles, different occupational exposures, localities and genetic polymorphism on sperm quality impairment associated with air pollution. This study did not demonstrate impaired standard semen parameters in association with exposure. It was shown that sperm chromatin damage and the percentage of immature sperm were highly sensitive to air pollution.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

30304 - Public and environmental health

Project

<a href="/en/project/EF16_019%2F0000798" target="_blank" >EF16_019/0000798: Healthy Aging in Industrial Environment</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2021

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health

ISSN

1438-4639

e-ISSN

1618-131X

Volume of the periodical

237

Issue of the periodical within the volume

August 2021

Country of publishing house

DE - GERMANY

Number of pages

6

Pages from-to

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UT code for WoS article

000696994300013

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85113724244