Impacts of traffic-related particulate matter pollution on semen quality: A retrospective cohort study relying on the random forest model in a megacity of South China

Emerging evidence shows the detrimental impacts of particulate matter (PM) on poor semen quality. High-resolution estimates of PM concentrations are conducive to evaluating accurate associations between traffic-related PM exposure and semen quality. In this study, we firstly developed a random forest model incorporating meteorological factors, land-use information, traffic-related variables, and other spatiotemporal predictors to estimate daily traffic-related PM concentrations, including PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and PM 1 . Then we enrolled 1310 semen donors corresponding to 4912 semen samples during the study period from January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2019 in Guangzhou city, China. Linear mixed models were employed to associate individual exposures to traffic-related PM during the entire (0–90 lag days) and key periods (0–37 and 34–77 lag days) with semen quality parameters, including sperm concentration, sperm count, progressive motility and total motility. The results showed that decreased sperm concentration was associated with PM 10 exposures (β: -0.21, 95 % CI: −0.35, −0.07), sperm count was inversely related to both PM 2.5 (β: -0.19, 95 % CI: −0.35, −0.02) and PM 10 (β: -0.19, 95 % CI: −0.33, −0.05) during the 0–90 days lag exposure window. Besides, PM 2.5 and PM 10 might diminish sperm concentration by mainly affecting the late phase of sperm development (0–37 lag days). Stratified analyses suggested that PBF and drinking seemed to modify the associations between PM exposure and sperm motility. We did not observe any significant associations of PM 1 exposures with semen parameters. Our results indicate that exposure to traffic-related PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollution throughout spermatogenesis may adversely affect semen quality, especially sperm concentration and count. The findings provided more evidence for the negative associations between traffic-related PM exposure and semen quality, highlighting the necessity to reduce ambient air pollution through environmental policy. • Exposure to traffic-related PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollution throughout spermatogenesis may adversely affect semen quality, especially sperm concentration and count. • PM 2.5 and PM 10 might diminish sperm concentration by mainly affecting the late phase of sperm development. • Overweight and alcohol consumption may modify the relationships between traffic-related PM pollutants and sperm motility. • This study provided more evidence for the negative associations between traffic-related PM exposure and semen quality, and highlighted the necessity to reduce ambient air pollution.