Table 1.
Summary of studies investigating environmental or occupational exposures to pesticides and associations with semen quality
| First Author (Year) | Study Population | Country of Study | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyrethroids | |||
| Ji (2011) | 240 men recruited from a | China | Significant correlation between 3-PBA levels in urine and decreased sperm concentration |
| medical university hospital | (β= −0.27, 95%CI: −0.41to −0.12) | ||
| Meeker (2008) | 207 men recruited from an | USA | Significant association between TDCCA and decreased motility when controlling for CDCCA. Men |
| infertility clinic | with the highest total DCCA urine concentrations had higher odds of low sperm concentrations. | ||
| (OR=2.66, 95%CI: 1.07-6.92). | |||
| Xia (2008) | 376 infertile men | China | Men in the highest quartile of 3-PBA urine concentration had higher odds of low sperm |
| concentration. | |||
| Organochlorines | |||
| Aneck-Hahn (2007) | 311 men living in a malaria- | South Africa | Higher p,p’-DDE concentrations were associated with decreased sperm concentration and higher |
| endemic region | p,p’-DDT and p,p’-DDE concentrations were associated with decreased motility. | ||
| Haugen (2011) | 207 men: 114 living below and | Norway | Significant correlation between p,p’-DDE and higher sperm concentration (r=0.25, p=0.03) for |
| 93 living above the Arctic Circle | men living above the Arctic Circle in Norway. | ||
| Khan (2010) | 100 men recruited from an | India | Significant association between α-HCH and β-HCH and increased sperm count among infertile males. |
| infertility clinic: 50 fertile and | Significant associations between and γ-HCH and decreased sperm counts for asthenospermic men and | ||
| 50 infertile | between β-HCH and total HCH and decreased sperm counts for oligo-asthenospermic men. | ||
| Messaros (2009) | 336 men recruited from | USA | Men with high total DDT-DDE exposures had higher odds of low sperm concentration, low |
| infertility clinics | motility and low morphology. The risk of low motility due to DDT exposure was increased among | ||
| men with a GSTT1 null genotype. Evidence suggests a protective effect of increasing numbers of | |||
| variant alleles in the CYP1A gene against abnormal morphology. | |||
| Pant (2007) | 100 men: 50 fertile men and | India | Among infertile men, β-HCH, γ-HCH, p,p’-DDE and p,p’-DDD were associated with decreased |
| 50 infertile men | sperm counts. γ-HCH was associated with decreased motility. | ||
| Organophosphates | |||
| Hossain (2010) | 152 farmers: 62 with a history | Malaysia | Men with occupational pesticide exposures had higher risks for lower semen volume, lower |
| of exposure to pesticides | concentration, higher abnormal morphology and decreased sperm motility. | ||
| Perez-Herrera (2008) | 54 agricultural workers | Mexico | For men with the 192RR genotype of the PON1Q192R gene, there was a significant negative |
| association between OP exposure three months before sampling and decreased sperm viability. | |||
| Perry (2007) | 18 environmentally exposed | China | Concentration was significantly lower among men with higher levels of urinary DETP. Suggestive, |
| men | but not significant, association between high pesticide exposure and lower sperm concentration. | ||
| Perry (2011) | 189 men: 94 cases and 95 | China | Men with sperm concentration and total motility below the population median had higher levels of |
| controls | urinary DMP compared to controls. | ||
| Recio-Vega (2008) | 52 men: 17 non-occupationally | Mexico | Exposure to OPs was associated with decreased semen volume and decreased sperm count |
| exposed men, 16 agricultural | for men in the highest exposure group (OP sprayers). | ||
| workers and 19 OP sprayers | |||
| Yucra (2008) | 62 men: 31 exposed (OP | Peru | Ethylated OP metabolites in urine were significantly associated with decreased semen |
| sprayers) and 31 non-exposed | volume. | ||
| Other/Non-Specific Pesticides | |||
| Celik-Ozenci (2012) | 40 men: 20 farmworkers and | Turkey | ABM exposed men had significantly decreased sperm motility and increased semen volume |
| 20 non-exposed men | compared to men in the unexposed control group. | ||
| de Fleurian (2009) | 402 men recruited from an | France | Suggestive, but not significant, association between non-specific occupational pesticide exposure |
| infertility clinic | and altered semen (adjusted OR= 3.6, 95%CI: 0.8-15.8, adjusted p=0.087). | ||
| Multigner (2008) | 87 men: 42 exposed banana | Guadeloupe | No statistically significant associations between non-specific occupational pesticide exposures and |
| plantation workers and 45 controls | semen parameters. |
AMB= Abamectin CDCCA= cis-3-(2,2,dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylic acid CI= 95% confidence interval CYP= Cytochrome P-450 enzymes DCCA= 3-(2,2,dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylic acid DDT= Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane DETP= Diethylthiophosphate DMP= Dimethylphosphate GST= Glutathione-S-transferase HCH= Hexachlorocyclohexane OP= Organophosphate OR= Odds Ratio P= Pyrethroids 3PBA= 3-Phenoxybenzoic acid PON1= paraoxonase POP= Persistent Organic Pollutants p,p’-DDD= 1,1-dichloro- 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-ethane p,p'-DDE= 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl-ethylene) p,p’-DDT= 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene r= Pearson’s coefficient TDCCA= trans-3-(2,2,dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylic acid