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The relationship between dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl (DL˗PCB) levels in serum and semen parameters were investigated. Our case-control included two groups of patients. Total concentrations of PCBs were significantly higher in the low semen quality (n = 24) than in the normal semen quality (n = 26) group. A significant negative correlation was found between PCB 126 and viability in men with low semen quality, while PCBs 77 and 81 were positively correlated with morphology, and PCB 118, mono-ortho and total DL-PCBs were positively correlated with volume. In the normal semen quality group, PCB 189 and 118 were negatively correlated with sperm motility and volume, respectively. In addition, positive significant correlations were found between PCB 77, 23 and total non-ortho PCBs with regard to morphology. Our findings suggest that sperm motility, viability, volume and morphology are parameters sensitive to alteration by exposure to DL-PCBs, although PCB effects on spermatogenesis were not of clinical significance.

Several studies indicate that human semen quality and fertility have declined over the last decades. According to the estimation of World Health Organization about 8% of couples at the global level experience some forms of infertility problem during their reproductive lives. This percentage means that 50 to 80 million people have problems with fertility. Several lifestyle-related (obesity, smoking) and environmental (exposure to traffic exhaust fumes, dioxins, combustion products) factors appear to negatively affect human fertility, emphasizing the importance of environmental/lifestyle impacts throughout the life course.