[Reproductive health of young men living in PFAS contaminated areas: planned ad-interim data analysis]

Abstract

Objectives: to evaluate the association between exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and semen quality in young adulthood, with particular attention to different exposure metrics: serum and seminal concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorosulfonic acid (PFOS), foetal exposure, duration of exposure.

Design: cross-sectional study.

Setting and participants: 1,000 subjects aged 18-35 years residing in the Veneto area with water contamination by PFAS, enrolled in the period 2022-2023; this interim analysis involves 507 subjects out of the 1,000 enrolled.

Main outcomes measures: only the 2 main semen parameters were considered: sperm count, motility and morphology.

Results: from this interim analysis an association between sperm motility and morphology and duration of residence emerges: OR 1.14 (90%CI 0.99; 1.31) p=0.065 (an age-matched conditional logistic regression tested the linear trend between duration of residence in years and presence/absence of alterations in motility <42% or morphology <4% of the spermatozoa).

Conclusions: these results strengthen the literature on reproductive health risks related to exposure to PFAS and in particular to PFOA and PFOS. They also highlight the importance of duration of exposure and exposure starting from foetal life. The study here presented is part of a larger project still underway regarding analytical determinations on the biological samples provided. It was possible to anticipate the results of the interim analysis on 507 subjects out of the 1,000 enrolled.

Keywords: PFAS; Semen quality.