P-95: Occupational Hazards and Male Infertility

Background: Infertility can be a major concern for couples trying to conceive and occupational hazards can be a main cause in infertility in men. Studies conducted throughout the world indicate that workplace physical and chemical hazards could have a negative impact on male fertility. The main object of this study was to determine the frequency of occupational categories of men who attended an infertility clinic, and to evaluate the differences in the semen quality parameters among occupational categories. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 1572 males who were referred to the Infertility Research Center in Tehran for treatment of infertility in order to evaluate the effect of certain occupations on infertility. The participants were divided into several categories according to their occupations and evaluated by means of a questionnaire for duration of infertility, BMI, sperm count, percentage of normal sperm morphology and percentages of sperm with class A and class B motilities. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the mean sperm count or sperm morphology between occupational categories. Assessment of the differences in the frequency of sperm motility classes between occupational categories revealed a significant difference only in the frequency of sperm with Class B motility. The lowest mean percentages of sperm with Class B motility were seen in those involved in the transportation industry, a finding in agreement with a number of other researches. Conclusion: Our finding revealed an association between occupation and sperm motility. Since our study population was relatively small and in many cases exposure to work hazards were brief, a larger study group must be evaluated in order to support the preliminary results of this study.