Traffic pollutants affecting male fertility

Rajvi H. Mehta1 and T.C.Anand Kumar

Hope Infertility Clinic, 12 Aga Abbas Ali Road, Bangalore 560 042, India

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. e-mail: mehtat{at}vsnl.com

Dear Sir,

De Rosa et al. (2003Go) have documented an inverse association between traffic pollutants and the semen parameters (viz., sperm motility, sperm kinetics and sperm function) in toll-gate workers with the environmental levels of sulphur oxide (SO), nitrogen oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and lead (Pb) being beyond the permissible limits at the toll-gates. Although the circulating levels of the toxicological markers of these pollutants were within normal range in the study group, the concentrations of these markers was significantly higher in the study than in the control groups.

The air pollution indices commonly monitored by environmental agencies include SO, NO, CO, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and respirable (r) suspended particulate matter. The study by De Rosa et al. would have been more informative if they could have also monitored the levels of SPM and rSPM near the toll-gates. We had observed a significant inverse correlation between the ambient levels of SPM in the environment and the sperm count and semen volume (Mehta and Anand Kumar, 1997Go) in men undergoing routine evaluation of semen as a part of standardized investigation of an infertile couple, in the city of Bangalore, India.

SPM refers to solid and semi-solid material found in the atmosphere, which is <0.1 µm in size. SPM is a complex mixture of soot, ashes, dirt, soil, dust and other carbon based particles and acid aerosols. The source of SPM is vehicle exhaust, diesel emissions and construction activity, all of which were on the increase in the city of Bangalore, where our study was carried out, during the period of study. However, the mechanism by which SPM can affect semen quality could not be discerned because the particles themselves or any organic or inorganic material that bind to these particles could have been responsible for the detrimental effects of these pollutants on semen quality.

Gerald Lincoln (Bhattacharya, 2003Go) is critical of the conclusions drawn by De Rosa et al. that the traffic pollutants are responsible for the compromised sperm quality. Lincoln suggests that sitting for prolonged periods of time could affect sperm because of heat in the pelvic area. Prolonged sitting has been implicated in poor semen quality (Figa-Talamaca et al., 1996Go) but that does not seem to be the cause of compromised semen quality in the current study as the control group also exhibited a sedentary life style but did not exhibit compromised sperm function. The current study, as well as our earlier study, clearly imply that air pollutants emerging from vehicular exhaust do have a negative effect on semen quality.

Sperm quality is deteriorating in men because of the lack of exchange of genetic material by chromosomal cross-over seen in diploid pairs of chromosomes but not in the unpaired Y chromosome that is responsible for determining most aspects of ‘maleness’. Health authorities need to be alerted to this alarming situation, and take appropriate measures to reduce environmental pollution if our species is to survive!

References

Bhattacharya, S. (2003) Traffic pollution damages men’s sperm. New Scientist, April 30, 2003

De Rosa, M., Zarrilli, S., Paesano, L., Carbone, U., Boggia, B., Petretta, M., Maisto, A., Cimmino, F., Puca, G., Colao, A. and Lombardi, G. (2003) Traffic pollutants affect fertility in men. Hum. Reprod., 18, 1055–1061.

Figa-Talamanca, I., Cini, C., Varricchio, G.C., Dondero, F., Gandini, L., Lenzi, A., Lombardo, F., Angelucci, L., Di Grezia, R. and Patacchioli, F.R. (1996) Effects of prolonged autovehicle driving on male reproduction function: a study among taxi drivers. Am. J. Ind. Med., 6, 750–758.

Mehta, R.H.and Anand Kumar, T.C. (1997) Declining semen quality in Bangloreans: A preliminary report. Curr. Sci., 72, 621–622.





This Article
Extract
FREE Full Text (PDF )
Alert me when this article is cited
Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Email this article to a friend
Similar articles in this journal
Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Similar articles in PubMed
Alert me to new issues of the journal
Add to My Personal Archive
Download to citation manager
Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Articles by Mehta, R. H.
Articles by Kumar, T.C.A.
PubMed
PubMed Citation
Articles by Mehta, R. H.
Articles by Kumar, T.C.A.