Correlation between heavy metal content and sperm quality in male seminal plasma and recurrent spontaneous abortion
Objective To investigate the correlation between heavy metal content in male seminal plasma and sperm quality and recurrent spontaneous abortion(RSA).Methods Total of 122 male spouses in couples with recurrent spontaneous abortion from October 2021 to December 2022 were enrolled into the abortion group,and 97 male participants with normal fertility within two years into the fertility group.All subjects completed informed consent and health questionnaire;Their semen samples were collected for semen quality analysis including sperm motility,sperm morphology,sperm DNA fragmentation index(DFI),and seminal plasma heavy metal concentration.Results 1.The concentrations of 18 heavy metals,including zinc(Zn),lead(Pb),arsenic(As),chromium(Cr),copper(Cu),nickel(Ni),gallium(Ga),selenium(Se),strontium(Sr),tin(Sn),antimony(Sb),barium(Ba),titanium(Ti),vanadium(V),manganese(Mn),aluminum(Al),and iron(Fe),were analyzed in 219 semen samples using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS).The results showed that the levels of Cr,Se,Sb,Ti,and Ti in the semen of the abortion group were significantly higher than those in the fertility group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).However,there were no significant differences in the levels of 13 heavy metals,including zinc,lead,and arsenic,between the two groups.2.No significant differences were found in semen volume,sperm concentration,forward sperm and normal morphology between the abortion and fertility groups;however,sperm DNA fragmentation rate(DFI)in the abortion group was significantly higher than that in the fertility groups(P＜0.05).3.After normalizing the confounding factors such as age,BMI,smoking,alcohol consumption,stress,and physical exercise,Ti and Fe in seminal plasma samples were found to be associated with sperm DNA fragmentation rate(DFI).The OR value(95％CI)was 4.416(1.39～14.028)for Ti,and 0.744(0.589～0.938)for Fe.Conclusion DFI of the abortion group is significantly higher than that of fertility groups.Ti level in seminal plasma may be a risk factor for DFI abnormality,while Fe level in seminal plasma may have a protective effect.
heavy metalsperm qualityrecurrent spontaneous abortionDNA fragmentation index(DFI)
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