Search

Background and aims: Although psychological stress has been implicated as a cause of idiopathic infertility in both men and women, it has received little scientific attention among males as compared to females. The aim of the study was to examine the association between occupational, life stress, family functioning and semen quality. Methods and results: The study population consisted of 327 men who were attending an infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes. Psychological stress was assessed based on two questionnaires: The Subjective Work Characteristics Questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale. The level of satisfaction with family functioning and support was evaluated by means of the APGAR Family Scale. The findings suggest that, on the one hand, exposure to occupational stressors can be negatively associated with semen quality (there was a positive association between stress and the percentage of sperm with DNA damage ( p = 0.03) and atypical sperm ( p = 0.05)); on the other hand, there was no correlation between the level of life stress and semen quality indicators. Negative associations were found between satisfaction with family functioning and the percentage of motile sperm cells ( p = 0.02), VAP ( p = 0.05), VSL ( p = 0.05) and VCL ( p = 0.04). Conclusion: The study indicates that occupational stress can affect male semen quality; however, due to limited data on this issue, the obtained results should be confirmed in longitudinal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ambient air pollution has been associated with a variety of reproductive disorders. However, a limited amount of research has been conducted to examine the association between air pollution and male reproductive outcomes, specifically semen quality., Aim: The present study was designed to address the hypothesis that exposure to fluctuating levels of specific air pollutants adversely affects sperm parameters and the level of reproductive hormones., Subjects and Methods: The study population consisted of 327 men who were attending an infertility clinic in Łodź, Poland for diagnostic purposes and who had normal semen concentration of 15-300 mln/ml. All participants were interviewed and provided a semen sample. Air quality data were obtained from AirBase database., Results: The statistically significant association was observed between abnormalities in sperm morphology and exposure to all examined air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NOX, CO). Exposure to air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, CO, NOx) was also negatively associated with the level of testosterone. Additional exposure to PM2.5, PM10 increase the percentage of cells with immature chromatin (HDS)., Conclusions: The present study provides suggestive evidence of an association between ambient air pollution and sperm quality. Further research is needed to explore this association in more detail. Individual precise exposure assessment would be needed for more detailed risk characterization.