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11 November 2002
Sperm Quality May Be Damaged by Agricultural Practices
Study Published Today in Environmental Health Perspectives Finds Dramatically Lower Sperm Concentration, Motility in Men Living in Semi-Rural, Agricultural Areas
[RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC] Sperm concentration and motility (movement) may be reduced in men living in semi-rural and agricultural areas relative to men living in more urban areas, according to a study published today in the peer-reviewed science journal Environmental Health Perspectives. In the first U.S. study to compare semen quality using highly standardized methods across several research centers, the authors analyzed samples from 512 male partners of pregnant women (an indicator of fertility) in Columbia, Missouri; New York City; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Los Angeles, California, between September 1999 and November 2001. The results, say the study authors, suggest that agricultural practices may be contributing to a reduction in semen quality.
Semen quality among fertile men in semi-rural Columbia was significantly different than samples collected in New York, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. Sperm concentrations were 38, 75, and 67% higher in Los Angeles, New York, and Minneapolis, respectively, than in Columbia. Sperm motility was higher in all the urban centers than in the Columbia center, but was particularly higher in New York and Minneapolis. Compared to Columbia, sperm motility in New York and Minneapolis was 74 and 77% higher, respectively.
The detailed and rigorously applied protocol used by the researchers supported the differences between geographic areas after controlling for other factors known to alter sperm quality such as race, age, smoking, and recent fevers. Prior studies of semen quality were most often conducted in large metropolitan areas. The only other published study on a comparable semi-rural population analyzed semen quality among men in Iowa City, Iowa, and also found reduced sperm concentration.
A recent study by the U.S. Geologic Survey on water quality showed widespread occurrences of herbicides in streams and shallow ground water in agricultural areas. The authors plan to pursue this potential link in an upcoming study by looking for a correlation between urinary pesticide levels and semen quality in the study populations.
Shanna H. Swan of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Columbia School of Medicine headed the study team. Other authors include Charlene Brazil, Erma Drobnis, Fan Liu, Robin Kruse, Maureen Hatch, Bruce Redmon, Christina Wang, and James Overstreet.
EHP is the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More information is available online at http://www.ehponline.org. An abstract of this study is available at http://www.ehponline.org/swan2002.
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