Reproductive Function in a Population of Young Faroese Men with Elevated Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Perfluorinated Alkylate Substances (PFAS)

Maria Skaalum Petersen, Jónrit Halling, Niels Jørgensen, Flemming Nielsen, Philippe Grandjean, Tina Kold Jensen and Pál Weihe
Additional contact information
Maria Skaalum Petersen: Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, the Faroes Hospital System, FO-100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Jónrit Halling: Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, the Faroes Hospital System, FO-100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Niels Jørgensen: Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Flemming Nielsen: Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark
Philippe Grandjean: Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark
Tina Kold Jensen: Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Pál Weihe: Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, the Faroes Hospital System, FO-100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: Semen quality may be adversely affected by exposure to environmental chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs) that are persistent and may act as endocrine disrupting compounds. The aim of this study was to explore whether PCBs or PFASs exposure were associated with abnormalities in semen quality or reproductive hormones in Faroese men. This population based cross-sectional study includes 263 Faroese men (24–26 years) who delivered a semen sample for assessment of sperm concentration, total sperm count, semen volume, morphology and motility. A blood sample was drawn and analyzed for reproductive hormones, PCBs and PFASs. Exposure to ∑PCBs and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was positively associated with sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and luteinizing hormone (LH). In addition, total testosterone (T) was positively associated with ∑PCB. Both PCBs and PFOS appear to lead to increased SHBG, perhaps mediated via the liver. The higher total T associated with PCB may represent a compensatory adaption to elevated SHBG levels to maintain an unchanged free testosterone concentration. The positive association to LH for both PCBs and PFOS may indicate a direct adverse effect on the testosterone producing Leydig cells.

Keywords: semen quality; reproductive hormones; endocrine disturbing compounds; Faroe Islands (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/9/1880/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/9/1880/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:9:p:1880-:d:166699

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().