Reproductive function in adolescents and men living in the dioxin-contaminated area of the Samara region

The study was undertaken to assess a potential risk of the elevated levels of dioxins in the town of Chapayevsk on reproductive function in adolescents during sexual maturation and in adults. It was ascertained that there was a regular trend for retarded sexual development by the Tanner stages in the adolescents living in the polluted areas as compared with control individuals of the same age. The incidence of cryptorchidism, varicocele, and inguinal hernias was 2-3 times higher in the boys from Chapayevsk than in those from Samara. However, the level of gonadotropic hormone was much higher in the Chapayevsk adolescents than that in the control group. Polluted area-living males with normal levels of reproductive hormones showed a drastic deterioration in the quality of sperm, mainly the morphological index with a characteristic reduction of the acrosomal area of the head of spermatozoons. They also displayed a decrease in the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) sulfate and increases in the level of cortisol and in cortisol/ DHEA sulfate ratios. The above deviations in the balance of corticosteroids suggest impaired adaptive homeostasis, which is one of the mechanisms responsible for a potential human health risk of polychlorinated hydrocarbons.

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