1. Exposure to ambient ozone and sperm quality among adult men in China.
- Author
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Shi, Yadi, Zhang, Yangchang, Yuan, Kun, Han, Ze, Zhao, Shi, Zhang, Zhenyu, Cao, Wangnan, Li, Yufeng, Zeng, Qiang, and Sun, Shengzhi
- Subjects
MIDDLE school education ,CHINESE people ,FERTILITY clinics ,BODY mass index ,SPERM motility - Abstract
Limited evidence exists regarding the association between ozone exposure and adverse sperm quality. We aimed to assess the association between ozone exposure and sperm quality, and identify susceptible exposure windows. We recruited 32,541 men aged between 22 and 65 years old attending an infertility clinic in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China from 2014 to 2020. Ozone data were obtained from a satellite-based spatiotemporal model. Generalized linear models were used to estimate the association between ozone exposure and sperm quality parameters, including sperm concentration, sperm count, sperm total motility, and sperm progressive motility during the entire stage of sperm development (0–90 days before ejaculation) and three crucial stages (0–9 days, 10–14 days and 70–90 days before ejaculation). Stratified analyses were performed to evaluate whether associations varied by age, body mass index, and education levels. The final analysis included 27,854 adult men. A 10 μg/m
3 increase in ozone concentrations during the entire stage of sperm development was associated with a −4.17 % (95 % CI: −4.78 %, −3.57 %) decrease in sperm concentration, −6.54 % (95 % CI: −8.03 %, −5.60 %) decrease in sperm count, −0.50 % (95 % CI: −0.66 %, −0.34 %) decrease in sperm total motility, and −0.07 % (95 % CI: −0.22 %, 0.09 %) decrease in sperm progressive motility. The associations were stronger during 70–90 days before ejaculation and among men with middle school and lower education for sperm concentration. Ozone exposure was associated with decreased sperm quality among Chinese adult men attending an infertility clinic. These results suggest that ozone may be a risk factor contributing to decreased sperm quality in Chinese men. • O 3 exposure is associated with declined sperm concentration, count and total motility. • O 3 exposure during 70–90 days before ejaculation is the susceptible exposure window. • The adverse effect of O 3 on sperm quality was stronger among men with lower education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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