Acute effects of short-term exposure to ambient air pollution on reproductive hormones in young males of the MARHCS study in China

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145691
• Publication Date: 2021-02-06T21:22:36Z
• Authors: Furong Wang; Qing Chen; Yu Zhan; Huan Yang; Aihua Zhang; Xi Ling; Hua Zhang; Wenzheng Zhou; Peng Zou; Lei Sun; Linping Huang; Hongqiang Chen; Lin Ao; Jinyi Liu; Jia Cao; Niya Zhou
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Air Pollutants; China; Environmental Exposure; Hormones; 3. Good health; Cohort Studies; 03 medical and health sciences; Reproductive Health; 13. Climate action; Air Pollution; 11. Sustainability; Humans; Particulate Matter; Students

Air pollution, which is associated with male reproductive health. However, it is unknown the acute effects of ambient air pollutants exposure on male reproductive hormones. The current study, we measured serum levels of reproductive hormone in 2030 blood samples gathered from The Male Reproductive Health in Chongqing College Students (MARHCS) cohort study. We derived a full coverage of ambient air pollutant (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO and O3) concentrations by employing machine learning algorithms, and used a mixed-effect model to estimate single-day and cumulative effects of air pollutants exposure on serum reproductive hormones. Our results showed that (1) PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were positively associated with estradiol (E2) in both single and cumulative lag days, but were negatively associated with the ratio of Testosterone/E2 (the T/E2 ratio). NO2 was positively associated with estradiol at lag day 2 (95% CI: 0.290, 0.881; corrected P = 0.048) and lag 0-2 days (95% CI: 0.523, 1.337; corrected P = 0.003), with progesterone (P) at lag day 2 and lag day 3 (corrected P < 0.05). There was also a positive association between CO exposure and progesterone at lag day 2. (2) SO2 was inversely associated with E2 at lag day 3, 4 and lag 0-4 days, and progesterone at lag day 0, 1, 2 and lag 0-1, 0-2, 0-4 days, but positively associated with the T/E2 ratio at lag day 3, 4 and lag 0-4 days (corrected P < 0.05). O3 exposure was negatively associated with E2 at lag day 3 (95% CI: -0.216, -0.074, corrected P = 0.03). (3) No significant associations were found between the cumulative daily average air pollutant exposure of CO, O3 and hormone outcomes. This study suggests that short-term exposure to air pollutants may thus alter reproductive hormone levels, especially on serum estradiol, progesterone levels and the T/E2 ratio.