Published-Ahead-of-Print December 27, 2006, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.106.001701
Journal of Andrology, Vol. 28, No. 3, May/June 2007
Copyright © American Society of Andrology
DOI: 10.2164/jandrol.106.001701
Impaired Semen Quality Associated With Environmental DDT Exposure in Young Men Living in a Malaria Area in the Limpopo Province, South Africa
NATALIE H. ANECK-HAHN*,
,
GLORIA W. SCHULENBURG
,
MARIA S. BORNMAN,
PAULINA FARIAS
AND
CHRISTIAAN DE JAGER*
From the * Environmental Health, School of Health
Systems & Public Health, and Andrology,
Department of Urology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, and
Department of Urology, University of Limpopo,
Medunsa, South Africa; and Instituto Nacional de
Salud Publica, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
|
Correspondence to: C de Jager, PhD, Environmental Health, School of Health
Systems & Public Health, University of Pretoria, PO Box 667, Pretoria,
0001, South Africa (e-mail:
tdejager{at}medic.up.ac.za). |
The pesticide DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(chlorodiphenyl)ethane] is 1 of
the 12 persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under negotiation at the Stockholm
Convention to restrict or ban their production and use because of their
toxicity, resistance to breakdown, bioaccumulation, and potential for being
transported over long distances. DDT has estrogenic potential, and the main
metabolite, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene
(p,p'-DDE), is a potent antiandrogen. In response to mounting
evidence on the endocrine-disrupting influence of environmental chemicals on
human health, this epidemiological study was initiated to test the hypothesis
that nonoccupational exposure to DDT affects male reproductive parameters. In
a cross-sectional study, healthy male subjects (n = 311) between 18 and 40
years (23 ± 5) of age were recruited from 3 communities in an endemic
malaria area in which DDT is sprayed annually. A semen analysis according to
World Health Organization (WHO) standards was performed. The Hamilton Thorne
Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis (CASA) system was simultaneously used to
determine additional sperm motility parameters. Blood plasma samples were
assayed for p,p'-DDT and metabolites as a measure of exposure.
The exposure levels were expressed as lipid-adjusted p,p'-DDT
and p,p'-DDE values. The mean p,p'-DDT and
p,p'-DDE concentrations were 90.23 µg/g(±102.4) and
215.47 µg/g(±210.6), respectively. The multivariate linear
regression analyses indicated that mean CASA motility was lower with a higher
p,p'-DDE concentration (ß = -0.02, P = .001) and
the CASA parameter beat cross-frequency (BCF) was higher with a higher
p,p'-DDT concentration (ß = 0.01, P = .000).
There was also a statistically significant positive association between
percent sperm with cytoplasmic droplets and p,p'-DDT
concentration (ß = 0.0014, P = .014). The ejaculate volume (mean
1.9 ± 1.33 mL) was lower than the normal range (
2.0 mL) according
to WHO, and a significant decrease with increasing p,p'-DDE
values was seen for both square root–transformed volume (ß =
-0.0003; P = .024) and count (ß = -0.003; P = .04).
Although there were no associations between either p,p'-DDT or
p,p'-DDE concentrations and the rest of the seminal parameters,
the incidence of teratozoospermia (99%; normal sperm <15%) was high.
Twenty-eight percent of the study group presented with oligozoospermia (<20
x 106 sperm/mL), which had a significant positive association
with p,p'-DDE (odds ratio [OR] = 1.001, P = .03).
There was a significant positive association between participants with
asthenozoospermia (32%) and p,p'-DDT (OR 1.003, P =
.006) and p,p'-DDE (OR 1.001, P = .02). The results
imply that nonoccupational exposure to DDT is associated with impaired seminal
parameters in men. The high exposure levels of p,p'-DDT and
p,p'-DDE are of concern because these levels could have
far-reaching implications for reproductive and general health.
Key words: Seminal parameters, organochlorine pesticides, p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, POPs, spermatozoa, CASA
Copyright © 2007 by The American Society of Andrology.
