Study of the effect of trace elements on male fertility and its relationship to DNA damage

Background
The current study examined the heavy metals cadmium, lead and nickel in infertile patients.

Objectives
To analyze and study the relationship between heavy metals and human male fertility and highlight the effect of heavy metals on the vitality of human sperm.

Material and methods
Samples were collected from Saader City Medical Laboratories, and analyses were conducted in the laboratories of the College of Science, University of Kufa. Data from Teratozoospermia patients (n = 25), Asthenozoospermia patients (n = 25), and Oligozoospermia patients (n = 25) was analyzed, and Normospermia fertile males were used as a control (n = 15).

Results
The results showed that there is variation in the heavy metals in the studied samples. The values were as follows for the mean concentrations in infertile patients with Teratozoospermia 1.398 ± 1.24; 9.33 ± 0.92 and 1.17 ± 0.08 µg/L for cadmium, lead, and nickel, respectively, and the values were as follows for the mean concentrations in infertile patients with Asthenozoospermia 1.278 ± 1.09; 7.97 ± 0.31 and 1.15 ± 0.07 µg/L for cadmium, lead, and nickel, respectively, and the values were as follows for the mean concentrations in infertile patients with Oligozoospermia 0.747 ± 0.07; 6.59 ± 0.73 and 0.419 ± 0.05 µg/L for cadmium, lead, and nickel, respectively, and the results were compared with the control group 0.389 ± 0.04; 3.92 ± 0.51 and 0.33 ± 0.05 µg/L for cadmium, lead, and nickel, respectively. The high amounts of these substances led to a significant increase in the values of reactive oxygen species in seminal plasma, and this led to the fragmentation of the genetic material in the sperm.

Conclusions
Heavy elements enter the Iraqi population either from natural sources, such as dust precipitation, erosion or weathering, and the decomposition of dead organisms in water, or industrial sources, which are the result of human pollutants from industrial waste, such as the waste of some leather, paint, and paper factories that seep into the water without treatment.