Associations of blood trihalomethanes with semen quality among 1199 healthy Chinese men screened as potential sperm donors

Background: Trihalomethanes (THMs) have demonstrated adverse effects on male reproductive systems in experimental animals, but human evidence has been inconsistent. Prior researches have been limited by small sample sizes and inadequate exposure assessment. Objectives: To investigate the association between blood THMs and repeated measurements of semen quality parameters among 1199 healthy men screened as potential sperm donors. Methods: We recruited healthy men presenting to the Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank from April to December 2017. At study entry, each participant provided a spot blood sample which was used to quantify blood concentrations of four THMs: chloroform (TCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM) and bromoform (TBM). The summary measures of exposure for brominated THMs (Br-THMs; molar sum of BDCM, DBCM and TBM) and total THMs (TTHMs; molar sum of TCM and Br-THMs) were also calculated. We used multivariable linear regression models to estimate the cross-sectional associations of tertiles of blood THM concentrations with semen quality parameters measured at study entry, and mixed-effect models to estimate the longitudinal associations accounting for repeated measures of semen quality, adjusting for relevant confounding factors. Results: In the cross-sectional analysis, several inverse dose-response relationships were observed across tertiles of blood TCM concentrations and sperm count, total motility and progressive motility, and between blood DBCM, and Br-THMs, and TTHMs and sperm count and concentration. The inverse associations of blood TCM, DBCM, Br-THMs and TTHMs with sperm count were confirmed in the longitudinal, repeated measure analysis. Conclusion: Our results suggest that exposure to THMs from drinking water may be related to decreased semen quality in young healthy men.