Blood and seminal plasma mercury levels and predatory fish intake in relation to low semen quality
Journal
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Journal Volume
26
Journal Issue
19
Pages
19425
Date Issued
2019-07-01
Author(s)
Abstract
© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. Declining human sperm quality has been demonstrated in several recent studies. Age, environmental factors, and nutritional factors can affect semen quality. Mercury (Hg) is considered a male reproductive toxicant. Animal studies indicated that exposure to Hg can cause DNA damage, sperm dysfunction, and decreased sperm motility. Some previous studies also revealed that blood Hg levels in infertile or subfertile males were higher than those in normal males. In this study, we recruited 84 male participants from a reproductive medical center and investigated the Hg, lead, and selenium levels in blood and seminal plasma. Participants were divided into two groups, low- and high-quality semen groups, according to the World Health Organization reference values for human semen characteristics. The distribution of blood reproductive hormones and information on participants’ lifestyle and medical history were collected from structured questionnaires. Average Hg levels in blood were 9.3±5.9 versus 8.9±5.9 and in seminal plasma were 1.26±0.61 versus 1.05±0.52 μg/L in the low- and high-quality semen groups, respectively. There was a dose-dependent relationship between blood Hg levels and normal sperm morphology (p=0.02). Participants with predatory fish intake and high blood Hg level had lower sperm with a normal morphology. Therefore, predatory fish intake may be a critical risk factor for elevated Hg levels in males and cause low semen quality.
Subjects
Mercury | Predatory fish | Semen quality | Sperm morphology
Mercury; Predatory fish; Semen quality; Sperm morphology
SDGs
Other Subjects
bioaccumulation; blood; concentration (composition); DNA; dose-response relationship; food intake; lifestyle; mercury (element); morphology; risk factor; selenium; sperm; World Health Organization; Animalia; mercury; adult; analysis; animal; blood; chemistry; dietary exposure; drug effect; female; food chain; human; male; metabolism; pathology; pregnancy; sea food; semen analysis; sperm; spermatozoon; spermatozoon count; spermatozoon motility; water pollutant; young adult; Adult; Animals; Dietary Exposure; Female; Food Chain; Humans; Male; Mercury; Pregnancy; Seafood; Semen; Semen Analysis; Sperm Count; Sperm Motility; Spermatozoa; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Young Adult
Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
Type
journal article