engleski

Blood cadmium and seminal fluid cadmium in nonoccupationally exposed adult male subjects

A recent study of men has indicated that exposure to Cd through smoking habits can reduce semen quality1 and can somewhat influence male reproductive endocrine function2. For establishing the location and mechanism of the reproductive effects of Cd, it is essential to evaluate not only blood Cd (CdB) but also seminal fluid Cd (CdF) levels3. The levels of CdB and CdF were determined in 121 adult male volunteers who had no occupational exposure to Cd: 79 cigarette smokers and 42 nonsmokers. The results obtained, expressed as median and range because of a skewed distribution, were 4.3(0.5-24.8)ug/l in smokers and 0.5(0.2- 1.5)ug/l in nonsmokers for CdB, and 0.9(0.3- 3.6)ug/l in smokers and 0.5(0.2-1.7)ug/l in nonsmokers for CdF. One of the smokers had considerably higher CdB level (24.8 ug/l, as compared to < 13.3*g/l in 78 smokers) which was probably due to recent overexposure to Cd, whereas his CdF level (1.3ug/l) was comparable to those of other smokers (<3.6ug/l). Difference between smokers and nonsmokers was highly significant according to the Mann-Whitney test: z=-8.805, P<10-16 for CdB and z=-4.683, P<10-5 for CdF. Highly significant correlation was found between an increase in CdF with respect to an increase in CdB, indicating non-linear rather than linear relationship: log CdF=0.236 log CdB - 0.477 ; r=0.508, P=0.000.

cadmium; human seminal fluid; human blood

nije evidentirano