Exposures to Atmospheric PM10 and PM10–2.5 Affect Male Semen Quality: Results of MARHCS Study

Studies have shown that the effects of ambient particulate matter (PM) may be related to particle's size. However, results on the relationships between different PM and reproductive health are controversial. To explore the impacts of various PM fractions on male reproductive health, a total of 796 eligible subjects recruited in 2013 baseline investigation. In addition, there were 656 (82.4%) and 568 (71.3%) subjects participated follow-up surveys in 2014 and 2015, respectively. We used multivariable regression analysis and mixed-effect model to investigate the associations between air pollutants PM₁₀, PM_10-2.5, and PM_2.5 exposures and semen quality, sperm DNA fragmentation and serum reproductive hormones of subjects. In the preliminary regression analysis, PM₁₀, PM_10-2.5, and PM_2.5 exposure all associated with sperm concentration, morphology, sperm high DNA stainability (HDS), serum estradiol and testosterone levels. However, in mixed models, we only found that PM₁₀ exposure were negatively associated with sperm normal morphology (95% CI: -14.13, -24.47) but positively associated with sperm progressive motility (95% CI: 23.00, 8.49), and PM_10-2.5 exposure was inversely associated with sperm concentration (95% CI: -9.06, -27.31) after multiplicity adjustment. Our results provide the evidence that air PM₁₀ and PM_10-2.5 exposures, not PM_2.5, are risk factors of semen quality.