TY - JOUR

T1 - Fetal exposure to paternal smoking and semen quality in the adult son

AU - Hærvig, Katia Keglberg

AU - Høyer, Birgit Bjerre

AU - Giwercman, Aleksander

AU - Hougaard, Karin Sørig

AU - Ramlau-Hansen, Cecilia Høst

AU - Specht, Ina Olmer

AU - Toft, Gunnar

AU - Bonde, Jens Peter

AU - Søgaard Tøttenborg, Sandra

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Background: The negative impact of maternal smoking during pregnancy on offspring semen quality is well established. Less is known about the impact of paternal smoking. Methods: We estimated differences in semen parameters and testicle size according to paternal smoking in 772 adult sons of women enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort when pregnant. Parents’ smoking was reported around gestational week 16, and analyses were adjusted for parents’ ages at conception, maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, maternal alcohol and caffeine intake, family occupational status, ejaculatory abstinence time, clinic of semen analysis, and season. Results: Sons of smoking fathers and non-smoking mothers had a 10% (95% confidence interval: −24%, 7%) lower semen concentration and 11% (95% confidence interval: −27%, 8%) lower sperm count than sons of non-smoking parents. Having two smoking parents was associated with 19% reduction in sperm count (95% confidence interval: −37%, 3%). Paternal smoking was not associated with volume, motility, or morphology. Adjusting for maternal smoking, paternal smoking was associated with a 26% increased risk of small testicular volume (95% confidence interval: 0.89, 1.78). Discussion: Exclusion of sons with a history of testicular cancer, chemotherapy, orchiectomy, and with only one or no testicles may have caused us to underestimate associations if these men's reproductive health including semen quality are in fact more sensitive to paternal smoking. Conclusion: The study provides limited support for slightly lower sperm concentration and total sperm concentration in sons of smoking fathers, but findings are also compatible with no association.

AB - Background: The negative impact of maternal smoking during pregnancy on offspring semen quality is well established. Less is known about the impact of paternal smoking. Methods: We estimated differences in semen parameters and testicle size according to paternal smoking in 772 adult sons of women enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort when pregnant. Parents’ smoking was reported around gestational week 16, and analyses were adjusted for parents’ ages at conception, maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, maternal alcohol and caffeine intake, family occupational status, ejaculatory abstinence time, clinic of semen analysis, and season. Results: Sons of smoking fathers and non-smoking mothers had a 10% (95% confidence interval: −24%, 7%) lower semen concentration and 11% (95% confidence interval: −27%, 8%) lower sperm count than sons of non-smoking parents. Having two smoking parents was associated with 19% reduction in sperm count (95% confidence interval: −37%, 3%). Paternal smoking was not associated with volume, motility, or morphology. Adjusting for maternal smoking, paternal smoking was associated with a 26% increased risk of small testicular volume (95% confidence interval: 0.89, 1.78). Discussion: Exclusion of sons with a history of testicular cancer, chemotherapy, orchiectomy, and with only one or no testicles may have caused us to underestimate associations if these men's reproductive health including semen quality are in fact more sensitive to paternal smoking. Conclusion: The study provides limited support for slightly lower sperm concentration and total sperm concentration in sons of smoking fathers, but findings are also compatible with no association.

KW - fetal programming

KW - infertility

KW - paternal exposure

KW - sperm count

U2 - 10.1111/andr.12782

DO - 10.1111/andr.12782

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 32150347

AN - SCOPUS:85082113970

VL - 8

SP - 1117

EP - 1125

JO - Journal of Andrology

JF - Journal of Andrology

SN - 2047-2919

IS - 5

ER -