Air Pollution and Quality of Sperm

Overview

Backgrounds.
It has been described that an exposition of males to chemical substances may significantlyimpoverish quality and quantity of produced spermatozoa. The aim of our study was to test whether the polluted airin the Teplice district has negative effects on the quality of sperm of males living in this district.Methods and Results. 325 males 18-year-old living in the Teplice district and in the control district of Prachaticewere tested. Samples were taken in 1992 and 1994, always at the end of winter and in autumn. According to WHOlaboratory manual for investigation of the human sperm, basic parameters were determined: volume of the semen,pH, motility, number and morphology of spermatozoa. In selected groups of males the frequency of aneuploidia ofspermatozoa was also examined. Examination of aneuploidia was done using three color fluorescence in situhybridisation with satellite DNA proves specific for X, Z and 8 chromosomes. Logistic regression was used for thedata analysis and Odd’s Ratio was estimated (OR’s). OR’s was found for the morphology of spermatozoa (4.1 and10.1 for medium and high exposition respectively), for the head morphology (6.1 and 4.1) and in the percentage ofmotile spermatozoa (9.8 and 3.5). More intensively exposed males had higher frequency of disomy in chromosomesX (p=0.012), XY (p=0.01), and Y (p

Key words:
sperm, aneuploidia, bio-indicators, air pollution.