In utero and childhood exposure to organochlorines and perfluorinated chemicals in relation to sperm aneuploidy in adulthood

Background Sperm chromosomal abnormalities are linked to infertility and may be caused by endocrine disrupting chemical exposures during development. Objectives We examined whether exposure to organochlorine compounds (OC), including polychlorinated compounds (PCBs), and perfluorinated compounds (PFASs) measured repeatedly since birth predicted sperm chromosomal abnormalities in young adulthood. Methods Aneuploidy was determined in semen samples obtained from 96 Faroese young men aged 22–24 years who were members of a birth cohort created in 1986–1987. Their current and previous serum as well as cord blood were analyzed for DDE, major PCB congeners (118, 138, 153, and 180), and PFAS (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFDA, and PFHxS). Incidence rate ratios between the exposures and the risk of an extra sex chromosome in adult sperm were assessed as indication of meiotic errors. The mixture effect for overall exposures (PCBs and/or PFASs) was estimated as the change in the percentage of each type of disomy for a doubling of the exposures for two individuals within the same smoking status and abstinence time group. Results Higher concentrations of organochlorines in cord blood and in serum at ages 7, 14 years and 22 years were associated with increased proportions of chromosomal disomies. The PCB concentration in cord blood was associated mainly with having an extra Y chromosome (p-value: 0.006), while PFAS concentrations at adulthood were consistently associated with XX18 and YY18 disomies (p-values < 0.05). Discussion These findings provide new evidence that fetal and subsequent chemical exposures can have enduring influence into adulthood on the formation of male germ cells.