ArticleJournal of assisted reproduction and genetics2018
Associations of semen quality with non-essential heavy metals in blood and seminal fluid: data from the Environment and Male Infertility (EMI) study in Lebanon.
Article in Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Potentially Toxic Elements and Male Reproductive Toxicity: Mechanisms, Implications, and Protective Strategies: A Narrative Review.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2026Review
- Associations of Lifestyle Factors with Cadmium and Nickel in Seminal Fluid of Potential Sperm Donors.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Metals/Metalloids Profile in Seminal Plasma/Serum of Patients with Asthenozoospermia/Oligozoospermia: Correlation with Semen Quality.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Semen Quality in a Large Cohort of Males Living in Highly Polluted Areas of Campania Region in Southern Italy with a Focus on the Role of Cadmium Exposure.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Correlates of prenatal heavy metal contamination in Lebanese infants using cord blood analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The impact of chemical pollution and warming on male fertility: a narrative review by the Special Interest Group "Environment and Fertility" of the Italian Society of Fertility and Sterility and Reproductive Medicine (SIFES-MR).Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Review
- The influence of environmental and chemical exposures on fertility in the Eastern Mediterranean region: A narrative review.International journal of reproductive biomedicine · 2025Review
- Exploring the association between metal(loid)s and human semen quality: a preliminary case study in a petrochemical complex.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2025Article
- Multielemental Profile for Seminal Plasma Through Inductively Coupled Plasma-Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Its Relationship with Seminal Parameters, Spermatic Biomarkers, and Oxidative Stress.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A Narrative Review of Heavy Metals and Sperm Quality: The Interplay with Antioxidant Imbalance and Reactive Oxygen Species.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Article
- Lifestyle and Environmental Factors Affecting Male Fertility, Individual Predisposition, Prevention, and Intervention.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- A comprehensive review on potential role of selenium, selenoproteins and selenium nanoparticles in male fertility.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Testicular protective effects of hesperidin against chemical and biological toxicants.Toxicology research · 2024Review
- Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2024Article
- Environmental and Genetic Traffic in the Journey from Sperm to Offspring.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- The Palliative and Antioxidant Effects of Hesperidin against Lead-Acetate-Induced Testicular Injury in Male Wistar Rats.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- Association of triclosan and human infertility: A systematic review.Environmental analysis, health and toxicology · 2023Article
- Analytical Determination of Heavy Metals in Human Seminal Plasma-A Systematic Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Influence of Seminal Metals on Assisted Reproduction Outcome.Biological trace element research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHuman exposure to environmental pollutants is widespread. It was suggested that exposure to non-essential heavy metals may adversely affect semen development in men. PURPOSE: To evaluate associations between non-essential heavy metals in blood and seminal fluid and semen quality parameters in men.
methodsMale partners of heterosexual couples were included. The following elements were measured in blood and seminal fluid: lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), mercury (Hg), and uranium (U) using ion-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.
settingThe fertility clinic at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.
main outcome measuresSemen quality parameters (volume, concentration, total count, progressive motility, viability, and normal morphology).
resultsWe found that participants with low-quality semen had significantly higher Cd and Ba concentrations in the seminal fluid than participants with normal-quality semen. We also observed significant associations between low sperm viability and higher blood Cd and Ba, as well as higher seminal Pb, Cd, Ba, and U. Furthermore, U concentrations in the seminal fluid were associated with increased odds ratios for below-reference progressive sperm motility and normal morphology.
conclusionsEnvironmental exposures to Pb, Cd, Ba, and U appear to adversely influence sperm development in men. In non-occupationally exposed men, measurements of heavy metals in the seminal fluid may be more predictive of below-reference sperm quality parameters than in blood.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.