Associations between Residential Proximity to Major Roads and Semen Quality: Results from a North American Preconception Cohort Study
Year: 2022
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Background: Metrics related to semen quality are clinically relevant markers of male fertility, and they could plausibly be affected by traffic-related air pollution. Existing studies yielded conflicting results. Methods: In a large preconception cohort study (Pregnancy Study Online [PRESTO]), we examined associations between traffic-related air pollution exposure and semen quality. From 2015-2019, male participants aged ≥21 years who resided in the United States were invited to complete semen testing using a validated at-home testing kit that provides quantitative measures of semen quality parameters (semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility). Using geocoded residential addresses at baseline, we estimated exposure by calculating the distance from residential location to the nearest major road and traffic intersection. We estimated the association between roadway proximity measures and log-transformed semen parameters by linear regression, adjusting for demographic and reproductive characteristics and used generalized estimating equations to account for correlation from participants who contributed two semen samples. Results: 196 participants contributed 333 samples for preliminary analysis. Mean sperm count was 243.2 million (142.4 motile), and mean sperm concentration was 66.5 million/mL (39.6 motile). Compared to participants who resided ≥400 m from a major road, we found suggestive evidence of reductions in semen parameters among participants who resided <100 m from a major road for sperm concentration (-15.3, 95% CI: -31.9, 1.3), motile sperm concentration (-10.4, 95% CI: -24.1, 3.4), total sperm count (-48.9, 95% CI: -120.0, 22.3), and total motile sperm count -39.5, (95% CI: -94.3, 15.3) . We did not find evidence of an association with distance to the nearest intersection. Conclusion: Residing close to a major road might be associated with small reductions in semen parameters, adding to the growing body of evidence that traffic-related air pollution may affect male fertility. Keywords: reproductive outcomes, traffic-related air pollution, male fertility, semen quality, sperm
Source: ISEE Conference Abstracts
Language: English
Subfield: Reproductive Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4316924663