News | Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Noise May Increase Infertility Risk
A Danish study found that long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) was associated with a higher risk of male infertility, while road traffic noise was associated with a higher risk of infertility in women over 35. Published in The BMJ, the study may help inform future policy.
Background
Infertility is a major global health issue affecting 1 in 7 couples trying to conceive. Previous studies have linked fine particulate air pollution to poorer sperm quality and lower fertility-treatment success rates, but findings on the chances of pregnancy have been inconsistent. No previous study had examined the effects of traffic noise on infertility in both men and women.
To address this uncertainty, researchers investigated associations between road traffic noise, PM2.5 air pollution, and infertility risk in men and women.
Methods and Results
Using nationwide Danish registry data, the study included 526,056 men and 377,850 women ages 30 to 45 who lived in Denmark between 2000 and 2017, had fewer than two children, and were married or cohabiting. Women with a previous infertility diagnosis or infertility-related surgery and men who had been sterilized were excluded.
Researchers calculated annual average PM2.5 concentrations and road traffic noise levels at each participant's address from 1995 to 2017 and recorded infertility diagnoses in the national patient registry. During 18 years of follow-up, 16,172 men and 22,672 women were diagnosed with infertility.
After adjustment for factors such as income, education, and occupation, each 2.9 microgram/cubic meter increase in the five-year average PM2.5 level was associated with a 24% higher infertility risk among men ages 30 to 45. PM2.5 was not associated with infertility risk in women. In contrast, each 10.2-decibel increase in five-year road traffic noise was associated with a 14% higher infertility risk in women over 35, but not in women ages 30 to 35. In men, road traffic noise was associated with a slightly higher infertility risk at ages 37 to 45, with no significant association at ages 30 to 37.
Conclusion
The associations between noise and female infertility and between PM2.5 and male infertility were consistent across rural, suburban, and urban areas and across socioeconomic groups. As an observational study, it cannot establish causation. It may also have included couples who were not trying to conceive and lacked information on lifestyle factors and exposure to noise and air pollution during work and leisure. However, it used reliable health and residential data and validated models that accounted for important social and economic factors.
The researchers suggested that, if confirmed by future studies, measures to reduce air pollution and noise could become important tools for improving birth rates in the Western world.
News | Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Noise May Increase Infertility Risk
News | Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Noise May Increase Infertility Risk
A Danish study found that long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) was associated with a higher risk of male infertility, while road traffic noise was associated with a higher risk of infertility in women over 35. Published in The BMJ, the study may help inform future policy.
Background
Infertility is a major global health issue affecting 1 in 7 couples trying to conceive. Previous studies have linked fine particulate air pollution to poorer sperm quality and lower fertility-treatment success rates, but findings on the chances of pregnancy have been inconsistent. No previous study had examined the effects of traffic noise on infertility in both men and women.
To address this uncertainty, researchers investigated associations between road traffic noise, PM2.5 air pollution, and infertility risk in men and women.
Methods and Results
Using nationwide Danish registry data, the study included 526,056 men and 377,850 women ages 30 to 45 who lived in Denmark between 2000 and 2017, had fewer than two children, and were married or cohabiting. Women with a previous infertility diagnosis or infertility-related surgery and men who had been sterilized were excluded.
Researchers calculated annual average PM2.5 concentrations and road traffic noise levels at each participant's address from 1995 to 2017 and recorded infertility diagnoses in the national patient registry. During 18 years of follow-up, 16,172 men and 22,672 women were diagnosed with infertility.
After adjustment for factors such as income, education, and occupation, each 2.9 microgram/cubic meter increase in the five-year average PM2.5 level was associated with a 24% higher infertility risk among men ages 30 to 45. PM2.5 was not associated with infertility risk in women. In contrast, each 10.2-decibel increase in five-year road traffic noise was associated with a 14% higher infertility risk in women over 35, but not in women ages 30 to 35. In men, road traffic noise was associated with a slightly higher infertility risk at ages 37 to 45, with no significant association at ages 30 to 37.
Conclusion
The associations between noise and female infertility and between PM2.5 and male infertility were consistent across rural, suburban, and urban areas and across socioeconomic groups. As an observational study, it cannot establish causation. It may also have included couples who were not trying to conceive and lacked information on lifestyle factors and exposure to noise and air pollution during work and leisure. However, it used reliable health and residential data and validated models that accounted for important social and economic factors.
The researchers suggested that, if confirmed by future studies, measures to reduce air pollution and noise could become important tools for improving birth rates in the Western world.
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