Concentrations of phthalates metabolites in blood and semen and the potential effects on semen concentration and motility among residents of the Pearl River Delta region in China

Xiaofei Song; Qiongfang Zhuo; Shaoyu Tang; Tianfa Xie; Zhiyuan Chen; Zhijun Zang; Yanan Zhang; Xiaojun Niu; Hua Yin; Feng Zeng; Chang He

Emerging Contaminants (Jan 2020)

Concentrations of phthalates metabolites in blood and semen and the potential effects on semen concentration and motility among residents of the Pearl River Delta region in China

Xiaofei Song,
Qiongfang Zhuo,
Shaoyu Tang,
Tianfa Xie,
Zhiyuan Chen,
Zhijun Zang,
Yanan Zhang,
Xiaojun Niu,
Hua Yin,
Feng Zeng,
Chang He

Affiliations

Xiaofei Song: School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Process and Control, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Guangdong, China
Qiongfang Zhuo: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, 523808, Guangdong, China
Shaoyu Tang: School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, 523808, Guangdong, China; Corresponding author. School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Tianfa Xie: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
Zhiyuan Chen: School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
Zhijun Zang: Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China
Yanan Zhang: Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China
Xiaojun Niu: School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
Hua Yin: School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
Feng Zeng: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
Chang He: Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 6
pp. 39 – 43

Abstract

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Exposure to phthalate acid esters (PAEs) has been found to have adverse effects on reproduction of human and animal. However, the effects on the semen quality are controversial. In this study, we have collected paired blood and sperm samples from patients (n = 103) at a medical clinic in Guangzhou, China, to determine the concentrations of eight phthalate metabolites (m-PAEs). The concentration ranges of ∑8m-PAEs were 2.7–55 and 0.99–17 ng/mL in blood and semen samples, respectively. MEHP (median, 3.6 ng/mL in blood and 0.55 ng/mL in semen) and MnOP (median, 3.4 ng/mL in blood and 0.69 ng/mL in semen) were the predominant analytes in both blood and semen samples. However, analytes were not correlated in paired blood and semen. Semen motility was significantly associated to the concentrations of ∑8m-PAEs in semen, but it did not associate to the concentrations of PAEs in blood. Multi-linear regression analysis, including concentrations of PAEs in both blood and semen, as well as BMI, occupation, living habits, suggested that exposure to PAEs at current environmental levels had very limited effects on semen quality of population in Guangzhou, China.

Published in Emerging Contaminants

ISSN: 2405-6650 (Print)
Publisher: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Country of publisher: China
LCC subjects: Technology: Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering: Environmental pollution
Website: https://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/emerging-contaminants/

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