Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Aug 22;8(3):62.
doi: 10.3390/toxics8030062.

Use of Personal Care Products and Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study in Young Danish Men

Kajsa Ugelvig Petersen  1 , Ahmad Mahmoud Balkiss  1 , Katia Keglberg Hærvig  1 , Jens Peter Ellekilde Bonde  1   2 , Karin Sørig Hougaard  2   3 , Gunnar Toft  4 , Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen  5 , Sandra Søgaard Tøttenborg  1
Affiliations

Use of Personal Care Products and Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study in Young Danish Men

Kajsa Ugelvig Petersen et al. Toxics. .

Abstract

Personal care products (PCPs) may contain multiple chemicals capable of harming male reproductive function. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess aggregated PCP exposure and potential associations with measures of semen quality in young men. Participants (n = 1058, age 18-21) were sampled among young men from the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). Upon recruitment in 2017-2019, each man answered an online questionnaire and provided a semen sample. Exposure to 12 common types of PCPs was derived from the questionnaire, and the extent of use and co-use was analyzed. We applied a negative binomial regression model to estimate percentage differences in semen parameters between low, medium and high PCP exposure groups. All participants were exposed to at least one PCP more than once a week, resulting in a mean number (SD) of 5.3 (2.0) PCPs currently used. Most participants (92%) were also exposed to fragranced products on a weekly basis. Little association was observed between aggregated exposure to PCPs and sperm concentration, total sperm count, semen volume, sperm motility and morphology. Despite prevalent use of multiple PCPs, we found little indication of adverse effects of aggregated overall or fragranced PCP exposure on semen quality.

Keywords: cohort; cosmetics; epidemiology; male infertility; personal care products; reproductive health; semen quality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentages of current users of personal care products among the 1046 men in the FEPOS cohort.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jacobs C., Kerna N.A., Tulp O.L. An overview of the causes and consequences of male fertility decline. Percept. Reprod. Med. 2019;3:192–194.
    1. Jorgensen N., Andersen A.G., Eustache F., Irvine D.S., Suominen J., Petersen J.H., Andersen A.N., Auger J., Cawood E.H.H., Horte A., et al. Regional differences in semen quality. Eur. Hum. Reprod. 2001;16:1012–1019. doi: 10.1093/humrep/16.5.1012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Skakkebaek N.E., Rajpert D., Meyts E., Buck Louis G.M., Toppari J., Andersson A.M., Eisenberg M.L., Jensen T.K., Jørgensen N., Swan S.H., et al. Male Reproductive Disorders and Fertility Trends: Influences of Environment and Genetic Susceptibility. Physiol. Rev. 2016;96:55–97. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00017.2015. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Priskorn L., Nordkap L., Bang A.K., Krause M., Holmboe S.A., Egeberg Palme D.L., Winge S., Mørup N., Carlsen E., Joensen U.N., et al. Average sperm count remains unchanged despite reduction in maternal smoking: Results from a large cross-sectional study with annual investigations over 21 years. Hum. Reprod. 2018;33:998–1008. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dey090. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Witorsch R.J., Thomas J.A. Personal care products and endocrine disruption: A critical review of the literature. Crit. Rev. Toxicol. 2010;40(Suppl. 3):1–30. doi: 10.3109/10408444.2010.515563. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources