The effect of ambient PM10 on sperm quality in Wuhan / 中华预防医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate the effect of exposure to particulate matter ≤10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) on sperm quality in different stages of sperm development.@*Methods@#This cross-sectional study included 1 827 patients attending the reproductive medicine center in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University during April 2013 to January 2015. Air pollution data from January 2013 to January 2015 was obtained from the database of Wuhan Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. The generalized linear model was employed to assess the association between each exposure variables and sperm parameters for several exposure windows (0-9, 10-14, 15-69, 70-90, 0-90 days before sampling) .@*Results@#The average levels of PM10 was (116.2±71.6) μg/m3 during the research period. Sperm volume was (75.4±49.1) ×106/ml in sample population, (29.4±16.2) % in progressive motility and (51.8±21.6) % in total motility. Exposure to PM10 was inversely associated with sperm concentration (β-0.319; 95%CI-0.529,-0.046) during 70-90 lag days. PM10 exposure during the 0-90 lag days was significantly associated with progressive motility (β-0.312; 95%CI-0.527,-0.097) and total motility (β-0.347; 95%CI-0.636,-0.059) after adjusted for age, education level, BMI, smoking, abstinence time, temperature, humidity and season.@*Conclusion@#Exposure to PM10 was associated with statistically significant decrements in sperm concentration and motility, and the adverse impact on sperm concentration was significantly in early phases of spermatogenesis.