Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

4-2012

Journal

Environmental Health Perspectives

Volume

Volume 120, Issue 4

Inclusive Pages

535-540

Keywords

Aneuploidy; Chromosomes; Human; Y--drug effects; Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene--toxicity; Environmental Exposure; Polychlorinated Biphenyls--toxicity; Sex Chromosome Aberrations--chemically induced

Abstract

Background: Chromosomal abnormalities contribute substantially to reproductive problems, but the role of environmental risk factors has received little attention.

Objectives: We evaluated the association of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p´-DDE) exposures with sperm sex-chromosome disomy.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 192 men from subfertile couples. We used multiprobe fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for chromosomes X, Y, and 18 to determine XX, YY, XY, and total sex-chromosome disomy in sperm nuclei. Serum was analyzed for concentrations of 57 PCB congeners and p,p´-DDE. Poisson regression models were used to calculate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for disomy by exposure quartiles, controlling for demographic characteristics and semen parameters.

Results: The median percent disomy was 0.3 for XX and YY, 0.9 for XY, and 1.6 for total sex-chromosome disomy. We observed a significant trend of increasing IRRs for increasing quartiles of p,p´-DDE in XX, XY, and total sex-chromosome disomy, and a significant trend of increasing IRRs for increasing quartiles of PCBs for XY and total sex-chromosome disomy; however, there was a significant inverse association for XX disomy.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that exposure to p,p´-DDE may be associated with increased rates of XX, XY, and total sex-chromosome disomy, whereas exposure to PCBs may be associated with increased rates of YY, XY, and total sex-chromosome disomy. In addition, we observed an inverse association between increased exposure to PCBs and XX disomy. Further work is needed to confirm these findings.

Comments

Environmental Health Perspectives is a publication of the U.S. Government. Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is free of known copyright restrictions.

Peer Reviewed

1

Open Access

1

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