Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40082868›Full record

SynthesisBMC urology2025

Does outdoor air pollution cause poor semen quality? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ria Margiana, Hasanain Abdulhameed Odhar, Kdv Prasad, Enwa Felix Oghenemaro, Rekha M M, Rohit Kumawat, Subasini Uthirapathy, Shilpa Sharma, M Ravi Kumar, Mehran Nouri

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC urology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

13 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. FIGO committee opinion: Environmental drivers of gynecologic and reproductive health.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025
    Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
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

10 authors.

Ria MargianaDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Hasanain Abdulhameed OdharDepartment of Pharmacy, Al-Zahrawi University College, Karbala, Iraq.
Kdv PrasadSymbiosis Institute of Business Management, Hyderabad, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India.
Enwa Felix OghenemaroDepartment of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria.
Rekha M MDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Sciences, JAIN (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Rohit KumawatDepartment of Neurology, National Institute of Medical Sciences, NIMS University Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.
Subasini UthirapathyFaculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Tishk International University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Shilpa SharmaChandigarh Pharmacy College, Chandigarh Group of Colleges-Jhanjeri, Mohali, Punjab, 140307, India.
M Ravi KumarDepartment of Basic Science & Humanities, Raghu Engineering College, Visakhapatnam, India.
Mehran NouriInfertility and Reproductive Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. mehran_nouri71@yahoo.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionIt is hypothesized that air pollutants could be associated with semen parameters. This systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies was conducted to reach a firm conclusion regarding the possible association between outdoor air pollution and semen parameters among the adult population.

methodsPubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science were systematically searched using the text keywords and MeSH terms, including "air pollution" and "semen parameters,". The population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) framework was used as follows: P (Adult men), I (Individuals with the highest exposure to the air pollutants), C (Individuals with the lowest exposure to the air pollutants), O [Semen parameters, including semen volume, total sperm count, sperm concentration, total motility, progressive motility, normal morphology rate, and DNA fragmentation index (DFI)]. The overall effect was presented as a weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) analyzed via a fixed (inverse-variance) or random (DerSimonian-Laird) weighted model. Low, moderate, and high heterogeneity were defined as I

resultsSeventeen studies covering 24,065 participants were enrolled in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Higher exposure to outdoor air pollution was associated with significant decreases in semen volume (WMD: -0.13 mL; 95% CI, -0.21 to -0.05; P = 0.001; I

conclusionBased on the results, it can be stated that air pollution can impair sperm parameters. Further prospective cohort studies are needed to illuminate this issue and clarify the underlying mechanisms.

Indexed as

Air PollutantsAir PollutionEnvironmental ExposureSemen AnalysisHumansMaleAir PollutantsAir pollutionInfertilityMeta-analysisReproductive healthSemen parameters

Identifiers

PMID40082868
PMCPMC11905585

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.