Effects of exposure to heat on male reproductive functions in glass factory employees

ABSTRACT

In a pilot study, 149 heat-exposed male glass factory employees and 258 randomly selected individuals from the same geographical area [not exposed] were interviewed as to the presence of primary infertility or children with congenital abnormalities. The prevalence per cent of primary infertility in the exposed group was 2 compared to 5.4 in the un-exposed. On the other hand, the prevalence of individuals who have children with congenital abnormalities in the exposed group was 6% compared to 4.3% in the un-exposed group. The commonest type of congenital abnormalities in the affected children of the exposed group was cardiac septal defect [44.4%], while no one of the comparison group had it. Abnormalities in the children of the exposed group had a male to female ratio of 21 while in the un-exposed group the ratio was 0.51. We can conclude as far as our results indicated that no hazard has been detected in terms of infertility but a slight increase in the risk of developing congenital abnormalities in the heat-exposed group should attract attention