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Time To Pregnancy and occupational lead exposure
M Joffe1, L Bisanti, P Apostoli
1Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, St Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK. m.joffe@imperial.ac.uk
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
|September 25, 2003
Summary
Current occupational lead exposure in European workers does not appear to impair male fertility. This study found no consistent association between lead exposure levels and time to pregnancy, suggesting current low-level exposure is not biologically significant for fertility.
Area of Science:
- Occupational health
- Reproductive toxicology
- Environmental epidemiology
Background:
- Lead exposure is a known reproductive toxicant for males.
- The impact of current low-level occupational lead exposure on male fertility remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between occupational lead exposure and male fertility.
- Utilized Time To Pregnancy as the primary outcome measure.
- Conducted a retrospective study across four European countries.
Main Methods:
- Assessed lead exposure using blood lead levels and imputed values.
- Employed three exposure models: recent, duration, and cumulative.
- Applied Cox proportional hazards models with partner covariates.
Main Results:
- Analyzed 1104 subjects, with 638 occupationally exposed to lead.
- Observed no consistent association between lead exposure and Time To Pregnancy.
- Found reduced fertility in specific categories for duration and cumulative exposure models.
Conclusions:
- The study's negative findings are robust against potential biases.
- Current occupational lead exposure levels do not appear to reduce biological fertility.
- Further research may be needed to confirm these findings in diverse populations.