A study on occupational exposure to petrochemicals and smoking on seminal quality

A cross-sectional study of 68 petrochemical workers (23 had never smoked [E /NS], 45 were current smokers [E/S]) and 130 subjects with no known history of exposure to petrochemicals (49 had never smoked [NE/NS], 81 were curren t smokers [NE/S]) was conducted to assess the effect of occupational exposu re to petrochemicals and smoking on semen quality. In-person interviews rev ealed occupational history, smoking habit, and lifestyle. Semen parameters such as volume, viability, sperm forward progression rate, sperm density, a nd total sperm count were determined for ail subjects. The results show tha t the E/NS workers had a lower sperm forward progression rate (P < .05) com pared with controls (NE/NS). Individuals in the NE/S group showed a signifi cant inverse relationship between years smoked and sperm density (r = -.24, P < .05). The data also revealed that cigarette smokers who had worked in a petrochemical plant had significantly poorer quality semen, including spe rm density, total sperm count, and forward progression rate, compared with the control (NE/NS) group (P < .01). Furthermore. there was a significant i nverse correlation between combined exposure and smoking years, and sperm d ensity (r = -.28, P < .05). These findings suggest that occupational exposu re to petrochemical compounds may aggravate the adverse effect that smoking has on semen quality.