Phthalate Exposure and Human Semen Parameters
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is scientific and public concern about commonly used chemicals, including phthalates, that are associated with reproductive toxicity in laboratory animals and are hormonally active. People are exposed to phthalates through diet, consumer products and medical devices. The present study explored whether environmental levels of phthalates are associated with altered semen quality in humans. METHODS: We recruited 168 men who were part of subfertile couples and who presented to the Massachusetts General Hospital andrology laboratory for semen analysis between January 2000 and April 2001. Semen parameters were dichotomized based on 1999 World Health Organization reference values for sperm concentration (< 20 million/ml) and motility (< 50% motile), as well as Tygerberg Strict criteria for morphology (< 4% normal). The comparison group was men for whom these semen parameters were all above the reference values. In urine, eight phthalate metabolites were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Specific gravity-adjusted phthalate metabolite levels were categorized into tertiles. RESULTS: There was a dose-response relation between tertiles of mono-butyl phthalate and sperm motility (odds ratio per tertile = 1.0, 1.8, 3.0; P-value for trend = 0.02) and sperm concentration (1.0, 1.4, 3.3; P-value for trend = 0.07). In addition, there was a dose-response relation between tertiles of mono-benzyl phthalate and sperm concentration…
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MBP and MBzP were found in semen from US men.
“MBP and MBzP were found in semen from US men [32,54].”
From A Review of Biomonitoring of Phthalate Exposures (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
MBP and MBzP were strongly associated with spermatotoxicity and subfertility in males.
“MBP and MBzP were strongly associated with spermatotoxicity and subfertility in males [32,54].”
From A Review of Biomonitoring of Phthalate Exposures (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
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Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement
Diamanti-Kandarakis, E., Bourguignon, J.-P., Giudice, L. C., Hauser, R., Prins, G. S., Soto, A. M., Zoeller, R. T., & Gore, A. C. (2009) · Endocrine Reviews · doi:10.1210/er.2009-0002 · Cited by 4,585 · see citing works
Self-citationPhthalates and other additives in plastics: human exposure and associated health outcomes
Meeker, J. D., Sathyanarayana, S., & Swan, S. H. (2009) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0268 · Cited by 835 · see citing works
A Review of Biomonitoring of Phthalate Exposures
Wang, Y., Zhu, H., & Kannan, K. (2019) · Toxics · doi:10.3390/toxics7020021 · Cited by 755 · see citing works
Homan, G. F., Davies, M., & Norman, R. (2007) · Human Reproduction Update · doi:10.1093/humupd/dml056 · Cited by 546 · see citing works
Endocrine disruptors and childhood social impairment
Miodovnik, A., Engel, S. M., Zhu, C., Ye, X., Soorya, L. V., Silva, M. J., Calafat, A. M., & Wolff, M. S. (2011) · NeuroToxicology · doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2010.12.009 · Cited by 423 · see citing works
Self-citationDo Perfluoroalkyl Compounds Impair Human Semen Quality?
Joensen, U. N., Bossi, R., Leffers, H., Jensen, A. A., Skakkebæk, N. E., & Jørgensen, N. (2009) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp.0800517 · Cited by 413 · see citing works
“Very few studies of other endocrine disruptors (e.g., phthalates, pesticides) have demonstrated such an association (Duty et al. 2003; Hauser et al. 2003, 2007; Meeker et al. 2008; Swan et al. 2003).”
BackgroundPersonal care products and endocrine disruption: A critical review of the literature
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Urinary di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)—Metabolites and male human markers of reproductive function
Herr, C., zur Nieden, A., Koch, H. M., Schuppe, H.-C., Fieber, C., Angerer, J., Eikmann, T., & Stilianakis, N. I. (2009) · International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health · doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2009.08.001 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
- Authors
- Duty, S. M., Silva, M. J., Barr, D. B., Brock, J. W., Ryan, L., Chen, Z., Herrick, R. F., Christiani, D. C., & Hauser, R.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hauser, Russ
- Venue
- Epidemiology
- Published
- 2003-05
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 269-277
- ISSN
- 1044-3983 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-5487
- OpenAlex
- W2141220013
- Cited by
- 441
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 27
- FWCI
- 12.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01ES009718, P30ES000002, T32ES007069)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Sperm and Testicular Function
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Pesticide Exposure and Toxicity
- Keywords
- phthalates, semen quality, sperm motility, sperm concentration, sperm morphology, mono-n-butyl phthalate, monobenzyl phthalate, monomethyl phthalate, phthalate metabolites, male infertility, subfertile couples, reproductive toxicity, dose-response relationship, urinary biomarkers
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Animals, Environmental Exposure, Humans, Infertility, Male, Male, Middle Aged, Phthalic Acids, Reference Values, Semen, Smoking, Sperm Count, Sperm Motility, Logistic Models
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