Can air pollution impact of sperm parameters? A meta- analysis

Objective: In recent century, air pollution is common in all countries and affect reproductive functions. It particularly impacts pregnancy outcome in women and changes sperm parameters in men. The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the impact of air pollution on quality of sperm. Method: The databases of Medline, Pub Med, Scopus, Google scholar, Cochrane Library and Elsevier were searched to identify articles in relation to air pollution and male infertility published between 1978 to 2014. 76 retrieved articles included ecological, correlational, cohort, case control and cross-sectional studies, which were retrieved through electronic and hand searching of obtained articles’ references. The outcome measure was any change in sperm parameters. A total of 11 articles were ultimately included in a meta-analysis investigating the impact of air pollution on sperm parameters. The %95 confidence intervals for pooled means of quality sperm parameters were calculated then compared their CI with standard s parameters CI . Mean and Standard deviation of sperm parameters were calculated and then their CI were compared with CI of standard parameters . Result: Eleven studies (3000 sample size in total) were included in the analysis. The %95 confidence intervals for pooled means were: 2.68±0.32 for Ejaculation volume, 62.1±15.88 for Sperm Concentration, 39.4±5.52 for Motility, 23.91±13.43 for Morphology and 49.53±11.08 for Sperm Count. Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis showed that air pollution can reduce sperm motility. But no changes are seen in other sperm parameters in spermogeram.