Organophosphorus pesticide exposure decreases sperm quality: association between sperm parameters and urinary pesticide levels

Abstract

Several studies have suggested that human semen quality has declined over the past decades and some of them have associated it with occupational exposure to pesticides. However, most of these studies have not been associated with a reliable exposure level and have been designed mostly as cross-sectional studies. The present work evaluates, in a longitudinal follow-up study, the effect of organophosphate pesticides (OP) at three occupational exposure levels on semen quality. In addition, the study examined the association between OP urinary levels and sperm parameters in exposed and unexposed workers. A total of 139 semen samples from 52 volunteers were assessed. Urinary OP levels were measured by gas-liquid chromatography. The results revealed that the poorest semen quality was found among the subjects with the highest OP exposure and the highest urinary OP levels. Seasonal variations in sperm concentration and sperm count were registered. The results showed a significant decrease in total sperm count among subjects with the highest exposure to OP. Further studies assessing the effects of OP on male reproductive health should be controlled by the variability in human sperm parameters, sperm seasonality, spermatogenesis time and the changing OP exposure level in men highly exposed to OP.