Occupation and male infertility: glycol ethers and other exposures

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1 1 Centre for Oupational and Environmental Health, University of Manhester, UK; 2 Aademi Unit of Reprodutive and Developmental Mediine, University of Sheffield, UK Correspondene to: Niola Cherry, Community and Oupational Mediine Program, Clinial Sienes Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton Alberta, Canada T6G 2G3; niola.herry@ualberta.a For partiipating entres see end of artile Aepted 31 January 2008 Published Online First 3 April 2008 Oupation and male infertility: glyol ethers and other exposures N Cherry, 1 H Moore, 2 R MNamee, 1 A Paey, 2 G Burgess, 1 J-A Clyma, 1 M Dippnall, 1 H Baillie, 2 A Povey, 1 partiipating entres of Chaps-UK ABSTRACT Objetives: To investigate the relation between male infertility and oupational exposures, partiularly glyol ethers. Methods: A ase-referent study was designed in whih men attending 14 fertility linis in 11 entres aross the UK in were reruited following 12 months of unproteted interourse and without a previous semen analysis. Cases were those with low motile sperm onentration (MSC) relative to the time sine their last ejaulation (MSC, for 3 days of abstinene). Referents were other men attending these linis and meeting the inlusion riteria. A single semen sample was olleted at the lini and analysed at the andrology laboratory serving eah hospital. Conentration was determined manually with motility assessed entrally from video reordings. Exposures and onfounding fators were assessed from self-ompleted and nurse interviewer questionnaires, ompleted prior to the results of the semen analysis. The oupational histories were assessed for exposures relative to UK norms by a team of oupational hygienists blind to ase status. Results: Of 2118 men in employment at the time of the interview, 874 (41.3%) were ases. Work with organi solvents, partiularly glyol ethers, in the 3 months before the first lini visit was assoiated with the likelihood of low motile sperm ount. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) for moderate and high glyol ether exposure (ompared with none) were 1.70 (95% CI: 1.11 to 2.61) and 2.54 (95% CI: 1.24 to 5.21). Adjustment for potential onfounders (surgery to the testes, previous oneption, wearing boxer shorts, drinking alohol, employed in manual work) redued the risk assoiated with glyol ether exposure: moderate OR = 1.46 (95% CI: 0.93 to 2.28), high OR = 2.25 (95% CI: 1.08 to 4.69). No other oupational risk fator was identified. Conlusions: Glyol ether exposure was related to low motile sperm ount in men attending fertility linis. This suggests that, at the time of the study, glyol ethers ontinued to be a hazard for male fertility. It has been reognised for many years that oupational exposure to lead ould affet male fertility at suffiiently high doses. 1 The disovery that dibromohloropropane (DBCP), a nematoide used partiularly in sub-tropial limates, ould indue azoospermia 2 raised onerns that other hemial ompounds might affet spermatogenesis. 3 A relatively small number of substanes partiularly pestiides (for example, keptone 4 and ethylene dibromide 5 ), organi solvents (for example, arbon disulphide 6 ) and physial agents (heat 7 and driving 8 ) were identified as possibly influening parameters (ount, motility or morphology) measured in routine semen analyses. The publiation of data suggesting that sperm ount had dereased, and was ontinuing to derease, in more industrialised ountries fostered speulation that previously unreognised oupational and environmental fators might affet fertility This heightened awareness of possible environmental toxiants enouraged investigation, using improved semen measurement, of exposures suspeted to be apable of affeting sperm. 11 The study reported here was designed primarily to test one a priori hypothesis, that organi solvents, and speifially solvent mixtures ontaining glyol ethers, were assoiated with a redued number of motile sperm. This hypothesis had arisen from an earlier study, 12 whih suggested that amongst men attending fertility linis those who were found to have a low motile sperm ount were more likely to have been exposed to organi solvents than men with moderate or high ounts. METHODS Design This was a multi-entre, ase-referent study where ases and referents were male patients identified at or before the first visit to the same fertility lini. To be inluded in the study, both ases and referents had to be part of a ouple seeking a oneption but without suess, following at least 12 months of unproteted interourse and, importantly, to have had no previous semen analysis. Cases were men with low motile sperm onentration (MSC) relative to the number of days sine last ejaulation. For men with three days abstinene an MSC of, /ml was used to define a ase; ut-offs for other abstinene groups are given below. This a priori ase definition was based on an earlier study 12 of solvents and male fertility and refleted the WHO reommendations 13 then in plae for normal sperm ount ( /ml) and motility (60%). Referents were the other men meeting these riteria and reruited to the study whose semen sample was not found to have a low MSC in relation to days of abstinene. Reruitment of subjets Men were reruited from 14 fertility linis aross the UK during a 37-month period from 1st January The methods used for reruitment differed aording to the pratie of eah lini, with men reruited at the first visit to a fertility or gynaeology lini, at the time of the first visit to an andrology laboratory for semen analysis or when a first appointment was made for a semen 708 Oup Environ Med 2008;65: doi: /oem

2 analysis. In eah ase the study was explained briefly and onsent sought for the researh team to ontat the subjet. If he agreed, a pakage was sent to his home ontaining information sheets and a brief questionnaire to be ompleted should he agree to take part. He was requested to abstain from ejaulation for a period of 3 5 days (depending on the lini) prior to the lini visit. On presentation at the lini for the first appointment following onsent, the subjet was interviewed by a researh nurse to elaborate on the information ontained in the pre-interview questionnaire. He also gave blood, urine and semen samples. Colletion and analysis of semen samples All men reruited to the study provided a semen sample for a diagnosti proedure as part of infertility investigations with their partner. The same sample was used for the researh study. It was olleted at the lini into a standard plasti ontainer and analysed following the protool summarised in Figure 1, based on the tehniques outlined in the World Health Organization (1999) manual. 14 The analyses were arried out in 12 andrology laboratories assoiated with 14 hospital linis; eah was a member of the semen analysis sheme of the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Servie (UK- NEQAS). Sperm onentration was estimated at eah site using a haemoytometre on a single dilution made in eah laboratory at the time of semen analysis. Motility was aptured on video tape using a omputer outstation ommissioned for the study from Hobson Traker Systems Limited, Sheffield, UK, and the tape was returned to the entral laboratory for analysis of sperm motility by Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis (CASA).The proportion of motile sperm was alulated as the perentage of sperm moving forward at 5 mirons/seond or greater. Oupational exposure assessment Self-report Before the interview the subjet ompleted a questionnaire on whih he reorded a omplete job history and exposures during the last 2 years to a number of hemials, tasks, physial agents and ativities. The answers to these questions, referred to below as self-reported exposures, were reorded simply as exposed or not exposed. At the interview the researh nurse heked the ompleteness of the answers to this questionnaire, reorded answers to any that had been missed, and onduted the detailed oupational interviews desribed below. In every ase this was ompleted before the result of the semen analysis was available. Job-speifi questionnaires Thirty job-speifi questionnaires were designed for this study. Interviewers were trained to administer one of these questionnaires if any of 100 job titles ourred in the oupational history reported by the subjet. The job-speifi questionnaires onentrated on tasks, ontrols and personal protetion rather than asking about hemial or physial exposures, and were designed to allow exposures to be assessed by the oupational hygienists from the information reorded by the nurse rather than from the subjet s own aount of realled or pereived exposures. Exposure assessment by professional oupational hygienists The omplete set of questionnaires (self-ompleted, nurse interview and job-speifi questionnaires) was first reviewed by the study hygienist (MD). If no exposure was reported and it was onsidered highly unlikely that any exposure had ourred, given the job titles and information from any job-speifi questionnaires, the subjet was onsidered unexposed and the information was not assessed further. For all subjets designated from this initial review to have possible exposure, the forms were examined independently by two of a panel of eight professional hygienists, eah with at least 10 years experiene in the field of oupational hygiene and who was a Member or Fellow of the British arediting body for oupational hygiene. The hygienists assessed exposure to four metals (lead and merury both organi and inorgani manganese and boron) and all other metals, five solvents (arbon disulphide, glyol ethers, methylene hloride, styrene and tetrahloroethylene) and all other volatile organi ompounds (VOC), and five other exposures (pestiides, heat, vibration and radiation both ionising and non-ionising). All exposures were hosen, following review of the relevant literature, as having some evidene of a possible effet on male fertility. For eah exposure the hygienist first deided whether, in his or her professional judgement, exposure was likely to be present at more than bakground levels; if so, a number of parameters of exposure (inluding route and intensity) were assessed. In the analyses reported here, the intensity of exposure was onsidered in relation to others exposed in the UK; a man was assessed as having high exposure if his average exposure to a speifi metal, solvent or other fator was likely to have been at levels found only in the highest third of those exposed in the UK, and low if it was in the lowest third of those with exposure. These assessments were made for three periods before the semen sample was olleted: the three months immediately prior to olletion, the three months before that and for the previous 18 months. Exposure assessments thus overed the 24 months prior to the semen sample. In this report, onsidering in partiular solvents, rapidly metabolised and exreted, only exposures during the 3 months prior to the sample were onsidered. For eah substane or fator, the higher of the independent ratings from the two hygienists was taken as representing the exposure of that man to that substane. These ratings estimated exposure for 18 substanes in four main lasses: metals, volatile organi ompounds (solvents), pestiides and physial fators (heat, vibration, radiation). In order to onsider the relative importane of glyol ethers and other solvent exposure, whih was of partiular interest to this report, a new fator was also estimated by inspetion of the individual ratings for eah subjet; this refleted the highest exposure to any solvent other than glyol ethers. Oupation The job title of the urrent or previous job was oded to three digits using the standard oupational lassifiation 15 used by the UK ensus and regrouped, using this lassifiation, to manual or non-manual work. Assessment of potential onfounders and effet modifiers Information on potential onfounders and effet modifiers was olleted and has been reported elsewhere (SOC). 16 Those of potential importane for the urrent report were age (of subjet and spouse), previous oneptions, medial history (partiularly of surgery to the testes), use of mediations, rereational drugs, tobao, alohol and wearing of restritive underwear. All of this information was obtained from the nurse interviewer, onentrating partiularly on the two years prior to the semen sample. Oup Environ Med 2008;65: doi: /oem

3 Figure 1 Summary of the semen analysis proedure. Training, doumentation, reording forms, equipment and onsumables provided entrally. Eah site reeived regular visits to ensure ompliane and equipment performane. *Conentration measured on both hamber sides using a single dilution. Samples were reounted from the same dilution if the ounts from both sides differed by more than 10%. The dilution and raw data were reorded to enable alulation to be independently heked. {Motility was observed in a 20 mm depth MiroCell TM slide (Coneption Tehnologies, CA, USA); the set-up of the omputer outstation was aessible only by the entral laboratory at the University of Sheffield. The operator randomly seleted the first field to be reorded after whih there was automati sampling for a further seven fields, eah being reorded at 20 seonds. Both a neat and a diluted (1:4 in phosphate-buffered saline) aliquot was analysed. {One in 10 samples was examined entrally by a single experiened tehniian to monitor laboratory performane. 1A Hamilton Thorne VOS version 10.8 Q (IVOS, Hamilton Thorne Researh, Beverly, MA, USA) was used to analyse the sperm motility. The proportion of motile sperm was alulated as the perentage of sperm moving forward at 5 mirons/seond or greater. Statistial methods and power Following univariate desriptive analysis, unonditional logisti regression analysis was used to estimate the effet of oupational exposures, having allowed for potential onfounders. Confounders found in previous univariate analysis related to ase status with p,0.05 were inluded in eah of the models fitted. Beause the observations were lustered within 11 urban entres, a multi-level model was fitted (using gllamm within Stata 9) with entre-speifi random interepts. The number of subjets needed for 80% power to detet an odds ratio (OR) of 2 using a 2-sided signifiane test and 5% level of signifiane were estimated at 2300 assuming a 2:1 ratio of ontrols to ase and that 1 in 40 ontrols would be exposed. Ethis Ethial approval was given by the Multi-Centre Ethis Committee for the North West (ref. no. MREC 98/8/73) with subsequent approval given by the Loal Researh Ethis Committee at eah site. RESULTS Study partiipation A total of men with appointments for fertility investigations were reviewed. Of these only 4257 were eligible. Of the remaining 7432 partiipants, eligibility ould not be established in 841 and 6582 were learly ineligible. More than three-quarters of these (5050/6582) were exluded beause, prior to interview, they had undergone a semen analysis (for the urrent period of infertility) and were aware of the result. Other reasons for exlusion were a period of less than 12 months attempting to oneive (n = 306), the ouple being urrently under treatment (350), only 1 member of the ouple undergoing investigation (313), a previous sterilisation (279) or an exluding medial ondition (30). Others were exluded beause they ould not speak English (142) or a pregnany intervened (112). Among the 4257 eligible ases, 53% (2249) were suessfully reruited, took part in an interview and gave a semen sample. Of those reruited, 68% were approahed at a fertility or gynaeology lini and 32% at an andrology laboratory. Of the 2008 not reruited, 67.7% (1360) refused, 572 did not attend the interview and 76 men ompleted the interview but did not provide a semen sample. The analysis reported here was thus based on 2249 subjets, of whom 2118 were in employment at the time of interview (see below). Semen analysis Motile sperm onentration (MSC) The produt of sperm onentration and motility (MSC) was used to define a ase in this study. The median MSC for the whole study group was /ml (range ) and mean /ml (SD = 40.6), with 182 men (8.1% of the study group) having no motile sperm. Of the 2249 subjets, 871 (38.7%) met an initial ase definition of, /ml progressively motile sperm. However, the onentration of motile sperm was strongly related to time sine last ejaulation (Table 1) whih suggested that the ase definition should be revised to take aount of abstinene. 710 Oup Environ Med 2008;65: doi: /oem

4 Table 1 Motile sperm onentration by days of abstinene, with utoff for ase definition Days of abstinene Motile sperm onentration, Cut-off adopted (610 6 ) to define a ase (onentration Mean SD n % of motile sperm) , , , , or more ,17.0 Overall * 38.8 *Five subjets did not have days of abstinene reorded (see text). Revised ase definition In those with 3 days abstinene 41.8% had an MSC meeting the initial ase definition. This perentage was used for the definition of a ase in eah abstinene group, resulting in a moving ut-off point on the MSC sale (Table 1, olumn 5). Thus, a subjet with 5 days of abstinene (for example) would be a ase if his MSC was, (rather than, ). Of the five ases with no reord of days of abstinene, one had an MSC of ; sine more than half of those with known abstinene reported four or more days, the balane of probabilities suggested that he be onsidered a ase. The other four had an MSC that implied referent status, regardless of duration of abstinene. Desription of the study population There was no important differene between ases and referents either in their own age (ases: mean 33.7, SD 6.5; referents: mean 33.5, SD 5.9) nor that of their spouse (ases: mean 30.8, SD 5.5; referents: mean 31.2, SD = 5.2). Of the potential onfounders onsidered only five were found to be related to ase status. Those with surgery to the testes or in manual work were more likely to be a ase and those reporting that they drank alohol regularly, usually wore boxer shorts or had been responsible for a oneption were more likely to be a referent. Cases were no more likely to report smoking igarettes than referents (ases 38.1%; referents 37.4%). The entre from whih the subjet was reruited was also examined. The proportion of ases in the different entres ranged from 36.1% to 47.5%. Oupational exposures The analyses of oupational exposures reported here inluded only those in employment at the time of the semen analysis. It is thus based on 2118 subjets (874 ases and 1244 referents) and exludes 57 ases (6.1%) and 66 referents (5.0%) who were unemployed or students. Self-reported exposures There was no signifiant differene between ases and referents on any of the 21 exposures in the last 3 months reported by the subjet himself (Table 2). Having adjusted for four of the fators found to be signifiantly assoiated (either positively or negatively) with ase status: surgery to the testes, previous oneptions by the male partner, use of alohol, wearing boxer shorts, there was some suggestion that exposure to glues or paints, work in stripping paints or driving for more than 4 hours were more ommon in ases but these differenes were ompatible with hane. Table 2 Self-reported exposure in the last 2 years by ase status Case Referent Total % Yes % Yes % Yes OR* (95% CI) Metal dust or fumes (0.84 to 1.28) Pestiide or weed killer (0.45 to 1.07) Fertilisers (0.54 to 1.40) Oils or greases (0.86 to 1.27) Detergents or soaps (0.94 to 1.40) Glues, adhesives or resins (0.94 to 1.45) Paints, varnishes or (0.92 to 1.46) laquers Printing inks and dye stuffs (0.66 to 1.39) Dry leaning fluids (0.27 to 2.02) Other solvents (0.79 to 1.20) Welding (0.66 to 1.22) Metal work (0.75 to 1.21) Eletroplating (0.13 to 1.76) Degreasing (0.69 to 1.24) Stripping (0.86 to 1.58) Extremely hot environment (0.83 to 1.46) Heavy vibration mahining, (0.82 to 1.33) equipment or vehiles Non-ionising radiation (0.76 to 1.31) Driving (and/or driver s (0.99 to 1.46) mate) (more than 4 hours/ day) Flying (more than (0.59 to 1.31) flights/year) Working underground or underwater (0.53 to 2.37) N** OR, odds ratio. *For eah self-reported exposure, not exposed is the referent value. ORs have been adjusted, in a multilevel model, for surgery to the testes, previous oneption, use of alohol and wearing boxer shorts, lustered within the entre. **Missing data ranged from N = 1 (for driving) to N = 18 (for exposure to detergents or soaps). Hygienists assessment of exposure intensity At the initial srutiny by the study hygienist (MD) 646 subjets (260 ases and 386 referents) were assessed as not exposed to any of the fators of interest, were assigned zero exposure on eah and inluded as suh in the subsequent analyses. The distribution of 18 exposures (Table 3) showed that exposures to most metals, to most VOCs, and to pestiides and ionising radiation (in the last 3 months) were infrequently assessed as present in this study population. No differene was seen between ases and referents even for most of the more ommon exposures. In the adjusted models, signifiant differenes were seen only for glyol ethers and, with lower signifiane, all other volatile organi ompounds (VOCs). Inspetion of the adjusted ORs for eah lass of exposure suggested only two monotonially inreasing trends (both non-signifiant), based on low numbers with exposure to arbon disulphide and styrene. The ORs for these and for the two substanes signifiantly related to ase status (glyol ethers and all other VOCs ) are shown in Table 4. Only 13 of those exposed to glyol ethers had no other solvent exposure (that is, were assessed as zero on the variable onstruted to reflet solvent exposures other than to glyol ethers). The extent to whih the relation to glyol ethers and to other solvents was onfounded was examined by adding the onstruted variable refleting the highest exposure to solvents other than to glyol ether to the regression model. This onstruted variable did not add to the model if entered after Oup Environ Med 2008;65: doi: /oem

5 Table 3 Exposures in the 3 months prior to semen sample assessed by the oupational hygiene team from the job questionnaires % rated as: Adjusted model* Exposure None Low Medium High Total p Value Lead (organi) { Lead (inorgani) Manganese Merury (organi) { Merury (inorgani) { Boron All other metals Carbon disulphide { Glyol ethers Methylene hloride Styrene Tetrahloroethylene All other VOCs Pestiides Heat Vibration Radiation (non-ionising) Radiation (ionising) VOC, volatile organi ompound. Intensity is ompared with other oupational exposures in the UK (see text), n = *In a multi-level logisti regression model to assess relation to ase status inluding: surgery to the testes, previous oneption, use of alohol, and wearing boxer shorts, lustered within entre. { High and moderate ombined to eliminate empty ells. { High, moderate and low ombined to eliminate empty ells. glyol ether (p = 0.138). Conversely glyol ethers did add to a model ontaining this fator (p = 0.017), suggesting that it was exposure to glyol ether as suh, rather than simply exposure to any solvent, that was more important in the relation to fertility. Adjustment for manual work Cases were more likely (54.0%; 472/874) to be in manual work than referents (47.8%; 595/1244) (OR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.52) but inlusion of manual work may serve to redue the likelihood of deteting exposures that redue fertility by overadjusting the model. For eah of the fators rated by the hygienists (exept merury and ionising radiation), exposures were greater in those in manual work. For example the perentage (10.6%; 113/1067) of those with moderate or high glyol ether exposure in manual work was muh higher than those in non-manual work (0.9%; 9/1051). Beause of this, manual work will at as a proxy where the exposure is omitted from the model (and vie versa), and the presene of both in the same model may tend to redue the size of effets. When the variable refleting manual work was added to the model for glyol ethers summarised in Tables 3 and 4, the signifiane attributed to glyol ethers was redued to p = and the orresponding ORs were: low 0.85 (95% CI: 0.67 to 1.08), moderate 1.46 (95% CI: 0.93 to 2.28), high 2.25 (95% CI: 1.08 to 4.69). The OR assoiated with manual work was redued to 1.25 (95% CI: 1.04 to 1.52). If those with glyol ether exposure (in either manual or non-manual work) were removed from the analysis, those in manual work remained at inreased risk (OR 1.27, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.56). DISCUSSION The study was designed to investigate further the observation 12 that men working in oupations assessed as having a high Table 4 Odds ratios from logisti regression analysis for exposures assigned by oupational hygienists to the oupation in the 3 months prior to semen sample n Unadjusted Adjusted* Exposure Cases Referents OR (95% CI) OR (95% CI) Glyol ethers No Low (0.73 to 1.14) 0.93 (0.74 to 1.17) Moderate (1.11 to 2.61) 1.65 (1.06 to 2.54) High (1.24 to 5.21) 2.54 (1.23 to 5.27) All other VOCs No Low (0.78 to 1.17) 0.97 (0.79 to 1.19) Moderate (1.09 to 2.15) 1.55 (1.10 to 2.18) High (0.95 to 2.85) 1.68 (0.96 to 2.93) Carbon disulphide No Low (0.74 to 1.63) 1.13 (0.76 to 1.69) Moderate (0.36 to 12.91) 3.31{ (0.59 to 18.43) High 1 0, Styrene No Low (0.77 to 1.47) 1.10 (0.79 to 1.52) Moderate (0.60 to 2.93) 1.43 (0.64 to 3.18) High (0.70 to 18.62) 3.12 (0.58 to 16.64) OR, odds ratio; VOC, volatile organi ompound. n = *In a multi-level logisti regression model inluding: surgery to the testes, previous oneption, use of alohol and wearing boxer shorts, lustered within entre. { High ombined with moderate to eliminate empty ell. probability of solvent exposure were at inreased risk of a low motile sperm ount; it also aimed to identify other exposures that inreased risk of poor fertility. The results presented here support the earlier observation, narrowing the exposure from all solvents towards that of glyol ethers. It is of partiular note, however, that no other exposure was identified as onveying higher risk, either through the assessment of oupational hygienists, or by report of the subjets themselves. Although all the substanes and exposures assessed were inluded beause of some earlier suggestion that they might influene male fertility, apart from the solvents in Table 4, only self-reported driving more than 4 hours/day had a result even suggestive of a greater frequeny among men with a low motile sperm ount. The absene of effet of exposures other than solvents/glyol ethers in the assessments made by the oupational hygiene team may indeed reflet a true absene of risk to male fertility for men working in Britain at the turn of the entury. The strengths of the study the standardised and objetive assessment of MSC, the absene of reall bias and the blinding of both subjet and interviewer to eventual ase status, the use of fatual and speifi job exposure questionnaires and their subsequent blind rating by an experiened hygiene panel may give support to suh an enouraging interpretation. However, although motile sperm ount of the ejaulate represents the most signifiant preditor of male fertility 17 it must be noted that exposures affeting fertility by other mehanisms (suh as altered sperm morphology) would not be identified. Some other limitations must also be onsidered. First, the possibilities of seletion bias must be onsidered in the light of the relatively low partiipation rate (53% of those eligible). The study was, however, designed to minimise differential reruitment by ase status, with men deiding to partiipate or not before they knew the results of their first semen analysis, and the reasons for 712 Oup Environ Med 2008;65: doi: /oem

6 refusal are likely to have been similar in ases and ontrols. A potentially more important seletion effet (on external rather than internal validity) might arise from the deision to aept men into the study only if they had not had a previous semen analysis. We do not know the proess by whih a family physiian deided whether or not suh a test was appropriate before making a referral to a loal fertility lini. Although in the UK fertility investigations are available without harge through the national healthare system, aess to treatment, partiularly in vitro fertilisation, may be limited by loal poliies (on age and evidene of a stable partnership, for example); those unlikely to be aepted for treatment (and without the funds to pay privately) may be relutant to undergo investigations other than, perhaps, a semen analysis arranged through their family physiian. However the soial lass of partiipants was losely idential to that of men in the 2001 UK ensus. 16 Seond, the study with 2118 subjets (874 ases) in employment, had power to detet effets only for substanes for whih some 2% of the referents had biologially important exposure. As suh, the study was not powerful enough to detet small effets in relatively unommon exposures. The data for styrene and arbon disulphide, for example, are somewhat suggestive of effet but the numbers are too small to draw strong onlusions: even weak data may, however, ontribute to the overall body of knowledge on substanes rarely studied. Previous results on arbon disulphide and male fertility are mixed, 6 18 possibly refleting differenes in exposure levels. On styrene the literature is indiative of an effet on male fertility although a reent authoritative review onluded that there is insuffiient evidene in humans that styrene auses reprodutive toxiity. 22 Third, even for substanes where exposures were relatively ommon in the present study, the intensity may have been too low for any risk to be deteted. For example, we found no relation between ase status and the hygienists assessment of lead exposure in the last 3 months but (data not shown) no measured blood lead onentration exeeded 40 mg/dl, a value until reently onsidered an effet threshold. 23 A reent review suggests 24 that there is strong epidemiologial evidene that some of the exposures self-reported or assessed here (for example heat, ionising radiation, inorgani lead, arbon disulphide and welding) have a deleterious effet on the male reprodutive system. It is a limitation of the exposure assessment used in this report, whih reflets the hygienist s pereption of likely exposure relative to typial UK exposures, that we annot ompare our results with quantitative exposure levels in studies where harmful effets were reported. While estimates of inhalation exposure relative to the threshold limit value were made, the likely high ontribution of dermal exposures in work with solvents, inluding glyol ethers, indiated the use of a less quantitative metri suh as that adopted here. Fourth, mislassifiation of exposure, with some men with true exposure being lassified as unexposed (or some without as exposed) will have biased the size of the exposure effets towards the null. Moreover, the extent of suh mislassifiation may have differed between substanes and may perhaps have been lower for glyol ethers than for others, making the detetion of an effet more likely. Mislassifiation of outome would also redue the observed relation between low motile sperm and exposure. While great efforts were made to standardise proedures and to redue measurement error in motility, use of outomes with less variability (perhaps simply sperm ount) might have provided a less attenuated measure of effet. Finally, there is a possibility of unontrolled onfounding in jobs assessed by the hygienists as entailing exposure to glyol ethers. A high rating for glyol ethers was assigned for 33 men who held jobs in 16 ategories of the 3-figure UK lassifiation 15 : only one job, painters and deorators (SOC 507), had more than two men with this high assessment; of the 25 painters and deorators, 15 were assessed as being highly exposed to glyol ethers. The analysis presented examined onfounding with exposures to other solvents and indiated that it was the glyol ether that had the stronger effet, but the possibility of some onfounding by other unknown reprodutive toxin annot be exluded. The relation of glyol ether exposure to low motile sperm ount does not appear to explain fully the higher risk of low ounts among men in manual work whih remained, after allowane for glyol ether exposure, personal habits (alohol use and type of underwear) and medial history, some 25% higher than for those in non-manual work. While this might, in part, arise from an under-assessment of true glyol ether exposure, it is likely that there are other differenes between those in manual and non-manual work, both in and out of the workplae, that have not been adequately aptured by the study; igarette smoking, although more ommon in manual workers, was unrelated to ase status and did not aount for the exess risk in this group. Careful inspetion of ase status by oupational and industry odes did not help to identify informative subgroups or suggest other exposures, not assessed in this study, that might have been responsible. The plausibility of the onlusion that glyol ethers were affeting the fertility of those rated with moderate or high exposure depends on the likelihood that these men had been exposed to types of glyol ether that affet testiular funtion in man. Both propylene glyol ether derivatives and the longer hain ethylene glyol ethers (suh as ethylene glyol butyl ether) are thought not to affet the testes. However short hain ethers form toxi metabolites (methoxyaeti aid and ethoxyaeti aid) and are highly toxi to the testes in experimental animals, with epidemiologial evidene in man In the European Union, where the short hain glyol ethers have been lassified as toxi to the reprodutive system and labelled may affet fertility the use of propylene glyol ethers has inreased markedly sine the 1970s and that of methyl and ethyl derivatives has redued, suh that the two most toxi to the testes (ethylene glyol methyl ether (EGME) and ethylene glyol ethyl ether (EGEE)) formed less than 5% of the total market for glyol ethers in In the present study, as in the previous Belgian and Duth studies only some 5% of urine samples measured were positive for glyol ether metabolites (data not shown). The level of detetion in these studies was however about 20 times less sensitive than in the reently published study of Frenh muniipal workers where methoxyaeti aid was found in the urine of 51.1% of men thought to be urrently exposed (in ) to glyol ethers and 24.5% of those not urrently exposed, with ethoxyaeti aid in the urine of 11.1% and 5.7% of men. 28 Thus despite the doumented redutions in both relative and absolute amounts of toxi glyol ether use, low exposures still appear to be widespread. Some of the older men in the urrent study may have been first employed when high exposures to the more toxi glyol ethers were ommon but stratifiation by age did not suggest lower risk in the younger workers (data not shown). For men rated as having high exposure to glyol ethers risk was more than doubled but the population attributable risk for this hemial group was onsiderably lower, beause of the Oup Environ Med 2008;65: doi: /oem

7 Main messages Few effets of oupation on motile sperm ount were found in this multi-entre study designed to standardise methods and minimise reporting bias. Oupational exposure to organi solvents, partiularly glyol ethers, was assoiated with an inreased risk of low motile sperm ount. Low motile sperm ount was more strongly assoiated with personal habits and medial history than with glyol ether exposure. After allowane for exposures and non-oupational fators, men in manual work remained at inreased risk of low motile sperm ount. Poliy impliation The men in the study were in employment after the marked redution in use of the more toxi glyol ethers that has ourred in Europe sine the 1980s. This suggests that glyol ethers ontinue to be a workplae hazard that warrants srupulous ontrol measures. small numbers exposed (,6%) at moderate or high levels, than, for example, that assoiated with wearing tight underwear, a risk fator present in a third of the subjets. Eduation about suh remediable personal habits may be desirable, but the approah is different for oupational hazards where employers and regulatory bodies have a responsibility to protet the worker. The results from the present study suggest that glyol ethers ontinue to be a workplae hazard and as suh may warrant measures to ensure srupulous ontrol. Aknowledgements: The study was designed and initiated with the support of Professor Ian Cooke of the University of Sheffield. The UK Health and Safety Laboratories (now at Buxton) arried out the analysis of biologial samples. The researh was made possible by the input from many, in Manhester, Sheffield and in eah of the entres forming Chaps-UK. The oupational hygiene panel onstituted in addition to authors (GB, MD), Jeff Friar, Lesley Burgess, John Drabble, Dion Froes, Mike Slater and Harry Wilson. The researh oordinators and administrative staff inluded, as well as authors J-A C and HB, Yvonne King, Prisilla Appelbe, Chris Pappas, Deborah Saxton, Ana Roby and Jeanette Tenggren. Tehnial staff in Manhester and Sheffield inluded Mark Carus, Kelly Morris, Louise Reeve, Linda Street, Andrew Thomas and Hayley Willis. Eah linial and andrology entre had a team inluding liniians, nursing and tehnial staff, some 70 between the entres and we are greatly indebted for their ontributions. Funding: The study was funded by the UK Health and Safety Exeutive, the UK Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, the UK Department of Health and the European Chemial Industry Counil. The views expressed are those of the authors and not neessarily those of the funding bodies. Competing interests: None. Ethis approval: Ethial approval was given by the Multi-Centre Ethis Committee for the North West (ref. no. MREC 98/8/73) with subsequent approval given by the Loal Researh Ethis Committee at eah site. Partiipating entres of Chaps-UK: Department of Obstetris and Gynaeology, Queens University, Belfast; Assisted Coneption Unit, Birmingham Women s Hospital; Division of Obstetris and Gynaeology, St Mihael s Hospital, Bristol; Diretorate of Women s Health, Southmead Hospital, Bristol; Cardiff Assisted Reprodution Unit, University of Wales; MRC Reprodutive Biology Unit, Edinburgh; Reprodutive Mediine Unit, Liverpool Women s Hospital; St Bartholomew s Hospital, London; Department of Obstetris and Gynaeology, Royal Free and University College, London; Department of Reprodutive Mediine, St Mary s Hospital, Manhester; IVF/ Immunology Laboratory, Hope Hospital, Salford; Department of Histopathology, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manhester; International Centre for Life, Newastle; Department of Obstetris and Gynaeology, Jessop Hospital for Women, Sheffield; Shropshire and Mid-Wales Fertility Centre, Royal Shrewsbury NHS Trust. REFERENCES 1. Lanranjan I, Popesu HI, Gavanesu O, et al. 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