The Correlation of Urine Bisphenol A with Semen Parameters in Men Referred to Infertility Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Infertility and Reproductive Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

2 Health Reproductive Research Center, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran

Abstract

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is known as an endocrine disruptor that has harmful effects on general health. It is
commonly used in various industrial products. In this study we tried to evaluate the amount of BPA in urine samples
of the men referred to an infertility center.
Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study population consisted of male partners of infertile couples, who were
referred to infertility clinic in Mazandaran, a northern state of Iran. Questionnaires included demographic characteristics,
medical history, lifestyle factors, physical examinations. A semen sample and a spot urine sample were taken from each
participant. In the initial study group of 240 men, 3 groups were excluded, and 122 men remained for the analysis. Highperformance
liquid chromatography (HPLC) was applied to measure the amount of BPA in the urine samples.
Results: BPA was not detected in about half of the samples (53.3%). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that
no significant relationship existed between the urine concentrations of BPA, semen parameters and male reproductive
hormones. However, in a comparison with semen parameters in people with detectable urine BPA versus nondetectable
ones, an inverse association was noticed with sperm concentration. In other parameters, differences were not
significant. Smoking had no effects on sperm parameters, but body mass index (BMI) ≥25 reduced the percentage of
normal sperm parameters.
Conclusion: In most participants, urinary BPA was not detected. Probably in this study low environmental exposure to
BPA is the cause of lower urine BPA concentrations compared to other industrially developed countries. Therefore, no
overall relationship was observed between BPA level and male infertility.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1.  

    1. Gore AC, Chappell VA, Fenton SE, Flaws JA, Nadal A, Prins GS, et al. EDC-2: The endocrine society's second scientific statement on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Endocr Rev. 2015; 36(6): E1- E150.
    2. Zoeller RT, Brown TR, Doan LL, Gore AC, Skakkebaek NE, Soto AM, et al. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and public health protection: a statement of principles from the endocrine society. Endocrinology. 2012; 153(9): 4097-4110.
    3. Calafat AM, Ye X, Wong LY, Reidy JA, Needham LL. Exposure of the U.S. population to bisphenol A and 4-tertiary-octylphenol: 2003- 2004. Environ Health Perspect. 2008; 116(1): 39-44.
    4. Castellini C, Totaro M, Parisi A, D'Andrea S, Lucente L, Cordeschi G, et al. Bisphenol A and male fertility: myths and realities. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2020; 11: 353.
    5. Kasper-Sonnenberg M, Wittsiepe J, Koch HM, Fromme H, Wilhelm M. Determination of bisphenol a in urine from mother-child pairs-results from the duisburg birth cohort study, Germany. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2012; 75(8-10): 429-437.
    6. Cantonwine DE, Hauser R, Meeker JD. Bisphenol A and human reproductive health. Expert Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2013; 8(4): 10.1586/17474108.2013.811939.
    7. Radwan M, Wielgomas B, Dziewirska E, Radwan P, Kałużny P, Klimowska A, et al. Urinary bisphenol a levels and male fertility. Am J Mens Health. 2018; 12(6): 2144-2151.
    8. Brieño-Enríquez MA, Robles P, Camats-Tarruella N, García- Cruz R, Roig I, Cabero L, et al. Human meiotic progression and recombination are affected by Bisphenol A exposure during in vitro human oocyte development. Hum Reprod. 2011; 26(10): 2807- 2818.
    9. Brieño-Enríquez MA, Reig-Viader R, Cabero L, Toran N, Martínez F, Roig I, et al. Gene expression is altered after bisphenol A exposure in human fetal oocytes in vitro. Mol Hum Reprod. 2012; 18(4): 171-183.
    10. Li DK, Zhou Z, Miao M, He Y, Wang J, Ferber J, et al. Urine bisphenol-A (BPA) level in relation to semen quality. Fertil Steril. 2011; 95(2): 625-630. e1-4.
    11. Meeker JD, Ehrlich S, Toth TL, Wright DL, Calafat AM, Trisini AT, et al. Semen quality and sperm DNA damage in relation to urinary bisphenol A among men from an infertility clinic. Reprod Toxicol. 2010; 30(4): 532-539.
    12. Lassen TH, Frederiksen H, Jensen TK, Petersen JH, Joensen UN, Main KM, et al. Urinary bisphenol A levels in young men: association with reproductive hormones and semen quality. Environ Health Perspect. 2014; 122(5): 478-484.
    13. Mendiola J, Jørgensen N, Andersson AM, Calafat AM, Ye X, Redmon JB, et al. Are environmental levels of bisphenol a associated with reproductive function in fertile men? Environ Health Perspect. 2010; 118(9): 1286-1291.
    14. Wisniewski P, Romano RM, Kizys MM, Oliveira KC, Kasamatsu T, Giannocco G, et al. Adult exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) in Wistar rats reduces sperm quality with disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis. Toxicology. 2015; 329: 1-9.
    15. Oliveira IM, Romano RM, de Campos P, Cavallin MD, Oliveira CA, Romano MA. Delayed onset of puberty in male offspring from bisphenol A-treated dams is followed by the modulation of gene expression in the hypothalamic-pituitary-testis axis in adulthood. Reprod Fertil Dev. 2017; 29(12): 2496-2505.
    16. Ullah A, Pirzada M, Jahan S, Ullah H, Turi N, Ullah W, et al. Impact of low-dose chronic exposure to bisphenol A and its analogue bisphenol B, bisphenol F and bisphenol S on hypothalamo-pituitary-testicular activities in adult rats: a focus on the possible hormonal mode of action. Food Chem Toxicol. 2018; 121: 24-36.
    17. Ullah A, Pirzada M, Jahan S, Ullah H, Shaheen G, Rehman H, et al. Bisphenol A and its analogs bisphenol B, bisphenol F, and bisphenol S: Comparative in vitro and in vivo studies on the sperms and testicular tissues of rats. Chemosphere. 2018; 209: 508-516.
    18. Ullah A, Pirzada M, Jahan S, Ullah H, Razak S, Rauf N, et al. Prenatal BPA and its analogs BPB, BPF, and BPS exposure and reproductive axis function in the male offspring of Sprague Dawley rats. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2019; 38(12): 1344-1365.
    19. Völkel W, Colnot T, Csanády GA, Filser JG, Dekant W. Metabolism and kinetics of bisphenol a in humans at low doses following oral administration. Chem Res Toxicol. 2002; 15(10): 1281-1287.
    20. Völkel W, Kiranoglu M, Fromme H. Determination of free and total bisphenol A in urine of infants. Environ Res. 2011; 111(1): 143-148.
    21. Adoamnei E, Mendiola J, Vela-Soria F, Fernández MF, Olea N, Jørgensen N, et al. Urinary bisphenol A concentrations are associated with reproductive parameters in young men. Environ Res. 2018; 161: 122-128.
    22. World Health Organization. WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen. 5th Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010.
    23. Amin MM, Ebrahim K, Hashemi M, Shoshtari-Yeganeh B, Rafiei N, Mansourian M, et al. Association of exposure to bisphenol A with obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents. Int J Environ Health Res. 2019; 29(1): 94-106.
    24. Pollard SH, Cox KJ, Blackburn BE, Wilkins DG, Carrell DT, Stanford JB, et al. Male exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and semen quality in the home observation of periconceptional exposures (HOPE) cohort. Reprod Toxicol. 2019; 90: 82-87.
    25. Goldstone AE, Chen Z, Perry MJ, Kannan K, Louis GM. Urinary bisphenol A and semen quality, the LIFE study. Reprod Toxicol. 2015; 51: 7-13.
    26. Poormoosavi SM, Behmanesh MA, Janati S, Najafzadehvarzi H. Level of Bisphenol A in follicular fluid and serum and oocyte morphology in patients undergoing IVF treatment. J Family Reprod Health. 2019; 13(3): 154-159.
    27. Hanaoka T, Kawamura N, Hara K, Tsugane S. Urinary bisphenol A and plasma hormone concentrations in male workers exposed to bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and mixed organic solvents. Occup Environ Med. 2002; 59(9): 625-628.
    28. Galloway T, Cipelli R, Guralnik J, Ferrucci L, Bandinelli S, Corsi AM, et al. Daily bisphenol A excretion and associations with sex hormone concentrations: results from the InCHIANTI adult population study. Environ Health Perspect. 2010; 118(11): 1603- 1608.
    29. Jurewicz J, Radwan M, Sobala W, Ligocka D, Radwan P, Bochenek M, et al. Lifestyle and semen quality: role of modifiable risk factors. Syst Biol Reprod Med. 2014; 60(1): 43-51.
    30. Fejes I, Koloszár S, Szöllosi J, Závaczki Z, Pál A. Is semen quality affected by male body fat distribution? Andrologia. 2005; 37(5): 155-159.
    31. Kort HI, Massey JB, Elsner CW, Mitchell-Leef D, Shapiro DB, Witt MA, et al. Impact of body mass index values on sperm quantity and quality. J Androl. 2006; 27(3): 450-452.
    32. Sekhavat L, Moein MR. The effect of male body mass index on sperm parameters. Aging Male. 2010; 13(3): 155-158.
    33. MacDonald AA, Herbison GP, Showell M, Farquhar CM. The impact of body mass index on semen parameters and reproductive hormones in human males: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2010; 16(3): 293-311.
    34. Marinelli D, Gaspari L, Pedotti P, Taioli E. Mini-review of studies on the effect of smoking and drinking habits on semen parameters. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2004; 207(3): 185-192.
    35. Povey AC, Clyma JA, McNamee R, Moore HD, Baillie H, Pacey AA, et al. Modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for poor semen quality: a case-referent study. Hum Reprod. 2012; 27(9): 2799-2806.
    36. Sharma R, Harlev A, Agarwal A, Esteves SC. Cigarette smoking and semen quality: a new meta-analysis examining the effect of the 2010 World Health Organization Laboratory methods for the examination of human semen. Eur Urol. 2016; 70(4): 635-645.
    37. Vagi SJ, Azziz-Baumgartner E, Sjödin A, Calafat AM, Dumesic D, Gonzalez L, et al. Exploring the potential association between brominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, perfluorinated compounds, phthalates, and bisphenol A in polycystic ovary syndrome: a case-control study. BMC Endocr Disord. 2014; 14: 86.

     

International Journal of Fertility and Sterility
Volume 17, Issue 4
October 2023
Pages 292-298

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics