Human Reproduction, Vol. 16, No. 12, 2710-2717,
December 2001
© 2001 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Sperm morphological defects related to environment, lifestyle and medical history of 1001 male partners of pregnant women from four European cities
1 Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, GREFH, CECOS (Centre d'Etude et de Conservation des Oeufs et du Sperme humains), Hôpital Cochin, Université Paris V, Paris, France, 2 Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, 3 MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, Centre for Reproductive Biology, Edinburgh, UK and 4 University of Turku, Institute of Biomedicine, Turku, Finland
BACKGROUND: Recently, differences in semen quality have been found among the partners of pregnant women from four European cities: Turku, Copenhagen, Edinburgh and Paris. METHODS: During this study, slides from the four centres were subjected to a centralized assessment of sperm morphology. The percentages of sperm defects were recorded using a multiple-entry classification enabling the calculation of the multiple anomalies index (MAI), which is the mean number of anomalies per abnormal sperm. The relationships between various sperm abnormalities and self-reported data on medical history, lifestyle and occupational factors were examined. RESULTS: Significant differences in the MAI and most of the sperm defects were found between the four cities, and more abnormalities were found in spring than in winter. An increase in some sperm abnormalities was related to medical treatment of the mother during pregnancy, higher birthweight and previous treatment for cryptorchidism. Significant variations of several sperm defects were related to stress, weekly working time, occupational posture and metal welding, suggesting directions for further exposure studies. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that the detailed assessment of sperm abnormalities is a useful biomarker of the effect of various external factors which may qualitatively affect human spermatogenesis.
Key words: environmental factors/fertility/spermatogenesis/sperm morphology
5 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, Hôpital Cochin, 123 Bd de Port-Royal, 75014 Paris, France. E-mail: jacques.auger{at}cch.ap-hop-paris.fr
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