Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32871379›Full record

ArticleEnvironment international2020

Peripubertal serum concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and semen parameters in Russian young men.

Ramy Abou Ghayda, Oleg Sergeyev, Jane S Burns, Paige L Williams, Mary M Lee, Susan A Korrick, Luidmila Smigulina, Yury Dikov, Russ Hauser, Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Environment international, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Endocrine Disrupting Agents: Toxicological Aspects on Male Reproduction.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025
    Review
  3. Risk factors on testicular function in adolescents.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2022
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Ramy Abou GhaydaDivision of Urology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Oleg SergeyevGroup of Epigenetic Epidemiology, A.N. Belozersky Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Chapaevsk Medical Association, Chapaevsk, Samara Region, Russia. Electronic address: olegsergeyev1@yandex.ru.
Jane S BurnsDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Paige L WilliamsDepartment of Biostatistics and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Mary M LeeDepartment of Pediatrics, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Nemours AI duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, USA.
Susan A KorrickDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Luidmila SmigulinaChapaevsk Medical Association, Chapaevsk, Samara Region, Russia.
Yury DikovGroup of Epigenetic Epidemiology, A.N. Belozersky Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Chapaevsk Medical Association, Chapaevsk, Samara Region, Russia.
Russ HauserDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Lidia Mínguez-AlarcónDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: lminguez@hsph.harvard.edu.
Russian Children's Study
Harvard University · USLomonosov Moscow State University · RUSidney Kimmel Cancer Center · US

Funding

Translational Research Support CoreP30ES000002 · NIEHS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI JAIME ELIZABETH HART · 1985 to 2026
$44.6M
Effects of Environmental Phthalates and Chemical Mixtures on Male Puberty and Semen QualityR01ES014370 · NIEHS · HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI HAUSER, RUSS B · 2006 to 2021
$8.2M
NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES000002NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES014370
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEpidemiologic literature on the relation of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) with semen quality among adult men has been inconclusive, and no studies have prospectively explored the association between peripubertal serum OCPs and semen parameters in young men.

objectiveTo evaluate prospective associations of peripubertal serum concentrations of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), β-hexachlorocylohexane (β-HCH), and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) with semen parameters among young Russian men.

methodsThis prospective cohort study included 152 young men who enrolled in the Russian Children's Study (2003-2005) at age 8-9 years and were followed annually until young adulthood. HCB, β-HCH, and p,p'-DDE concentrations were measured at the CDC by mass spectrometry in serum collected at enrollment. Between 18 and 23 years, semen samples (n = 298) were provided for analysis of volume, concentration, and progressive motility; we also calculated total sperm count and total progressive motile count. Linear mixed models were used to examine the longitudinal associations of quartiles of serum HCB, β-HCH and p,p'-DDE with semen parameters, adjusting for total serum lipids, body mass index, smoking, abstinence time and baseline dietary macronutrient intake.

resultsLipid-adjusted medians (IQR) for serum HCB, βHCH and p,ṕ-DDE, respectively, were 150 ng/g lipid (102-243), 172 ng/g lipid (120-257) and 275 ng/g lipid (190-465). In adjusted models, we observed lower ejaculated volume with higher serum concentrations of HCB and βHCH, along with reduced progressive motility with higher concentrations of βHCH andp,ṕ-DDE. Men in the highest quartile of serum HCB had a mean (95% Confidence Interval, CI) ejaculated volume of 2.25 mL (1.89, 2.60), as compared to those in the lowest quartile with a mean (95% CI) of 2.97 mL (2.46, 3.49) (p = 0.03). Also, men in the highest quartile of serum p,ṕ-DDE had a mean (95% CI) progressive motility of 51.1% (48.6, 53.7), as compared to those in the lowest quartile with a mean (95% CI) of 55.1% (51.7, 58.5) (p = 0.07).

conclusionIn this longitudinal Russian cohort study, peripubertal serum concentrations of selected OCPs were associated with lower ejaculated volume and progressive motility highlighting the importance of the peripubertal window when evaluating chemical exposures in relation to semen quality.

Indexed as

Hydrocarbons, ChlorinatedPesticidesAdultChildCohort StudiesEnvironmental ExposureHexachlorocyclohexaneHumansMaleProspective StudiesRussiaSemenSemen AnalysisYoung AdultHexachlorocyclohexaneHydrocarbons, ChlorinatedPesticidesOrganochlorine pesticidesPeripubertal stageSemen quality

Identifiers

PMID32871379
PMCPMC9764548
OpenAlexW3081638547

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.