Semen quality and sexual hormones in greenhouse workers

Objectives This study focused on determining the testicular function of gre enhouse workers exposed to pesticides. Methods semen was examined for 122 of 199 eligible men (61%) from 30 orname ntal flower greenhouses. Sperm concentration, morphology, and viability wer e measured according to World Health Organization guidelines, and the curvi linear sperm velocity was determined by a computer-assisted analysis of vid eo recordings. Three groups were formed according to expert judgment of cur rent exposure to pesticides from cultures, pesticide formulations, and the transfer of pesticide residues from leaves to hands, and also ranked accord ing to years of work in a greenhouse. The risk estimates were adjusted for the effects of sexual abstinence and other potentially confounding factors. Results According to current exposure the median values of sperm concentrat ion and the proportion of normal spermatozoa were 60% and 14% lower, respec tively, in the high-level exposure group (N=13) than in the low-level group (N=44), and the values of the intermediate group fell in between. The adju sted differences between the high-level and low-level exposure groups were statistically significant, while no differences were observed for the viabi lity and velocity of sperm and sexual hormones. The median sperm concentrat ion was 40% lower for the men with >10 years' experience in a greenhouse th an for those with <5 years' experience. The age-adjusted testosterone/ sex- hormone-binding globulin ratio declined 1.9% (95% confidence interval 0.4-3 .4%) per year of work. Conclusions The results are compatible with the hypothesis that male fecund ity may be at risk from exposure to pesticides in the manual handling of cu ltures in greenhouses.