Objectives, designs and populations of the European Asclepios study on occupational hazards to male reproductive capability

The main objective of the Asclepios program was to examine occupational ris k factors for the male reproductive system. The program focused on occupati onal exposure to fungicides (farmers, greenhouse workers, and vineyard work ers), styrene (laminators in the reinforced plastics industry) and inorgani c lead (battery workers, foundry workers, and lead smelters). Questionnaire studies of time to pregnancy were combined with longitudinal and cross-sec tional studies of semen quality. The 8 data-collecting centers addressed 65 53 male workers and contributed time-to-pregnancy values on the 3077 most r ecent pregnancies. Data collection was by interview or self-collection. The average response rate across all exposures and centers was 69.8%. The Ascl epios project is the first international multicenter research project on en vironmental risks to male reproductive function. A protocol for epidemiolog ic research on occupational risk factors to the male reproductive system wa s developed, and links between epidemiologic and experimental units were es tablished. The majority, but not all, of the studies was completed within t he given time frame.