Urinary Phytoestrogens Are Associated with Subtle Indicators of Semen Quality among Male Partners of Couples Desiring Pregnancy.

Phytoestrogens have been associated with subtle hormonal changes, although effects on male fecundity are largely unknown. We evaluated associations between male urinary phytoestrogen (isoflavone and lignan) concentrations and semen quality. This study was a prospective cohort study of 501 male partners of couples desiring pregnancy and discontinuing contraception. Each participant provided up to 2 semen samples that were analyzed for 35 semen quality endpoints the following day. Linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate associations between baseline urinary phytoestrogen concentrations and semen quality parameters, adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), research site, and serum lipid and cotinine concentrations. Most associations between urinary phytoestrogens and semen quality parameters were null. However, select individual phytoestrogens were associated with semen quality parameters, with associations dependent on the class of phytoestrogens and modified by BMI. Specifically, genistein and daidzein were associated with a lower percentage of normal sperm and increased abnormalities in semen morphology, with reduced associations observed as BMI increased (P < 0.05) [percentages (95% CIs) of normal morphology by WHO traditional criteria: genistein, main effect: -5.61% (-9.42%, -1.79%); interaction: 0.19% (0.06%, 0.31%) per log unit increase; daidzein, main effect: -5.35% (-9.36%, -1.34%); interaction: 0.18% (0.05%, 0.32%) per log unit increase]. Enterolactone was associated with fewer abnormalities in semen morphometry and morphology and decreased DNA fragmentation, with reduced associations observed as BMI increased (P < 0.05) [percentages (95% CIs) of abnormalities in the neck and midpiece: enterolactone, main effect: -3.35% (-6.51%, -0.19%); interaction: 0.11% (0.01%, 0.21%) per log unit increase]. These results suggest that male urinary phytoestrogen concentrations characteristic of the US population may be associated with subtle indicators of male fecundity and semen quality but were not associated with couple fecundity.

Mumford SL ，Kim S ，Chen Z ，Boyd Barr D ，Buck Louis GM ... -  《-》

Higher urinary lignan concentrations in women but not men are positively associated with shorter time to pregnancy.

Mumford SL ，Sundaram R ，Schisterman EF ，Sweeney AM ，Barr DB ，Rybak ME ，Maisog JM ，Parker DL ，Pfeiffer CM ，Louis GM ... -  《-》

Polymorphisms in the CYP19 gene may affect the positive correlations between serum and urine phytoestrogen metabolites and plasma androgen concentrations in men.

Low YL ，Taylor JI ，Grace PB ，Dowsett M ，Folkerd E ，Doody D ，Dunning AM ，Scollen S ，Mulligan AA ，Welch AA ，Luben RN ，Khaw KT ，Day NE ，Wareham NJ ，Bingham SA ... -  《JOURNAL OF NUTRITION》

Urinary phytoestrogen levels related to idiopathic male infertility in Chinese men.

Phytoestrogens (PEs) are naturally occurring chemical constituents of certain plants. The internal PE exposures, mainly from diet, vary among different populations and in different regions due to various eating habits. To investigate the potential relationship between urinary PE levels and idiopathic male infertility and semen quality in Chinese adult males, 608 idiopathic infertile men and 469 fertile controls were recruited by eligibility screening procedures. Individual exposure to PEs was measured using UPLC-MS/MS as spot urinary concentrations of 6 PEs (daidzein, DAI; equol, EQU; genistein, GEN; naringenin, NAR; coumestrol, COU; and secoisolariciresinol, SEC), which were adjusted with urinary creatinine (CR). Semen quality was assessed by sperm concentration, number per ejaculum and motility. We found that exposures to DAI, GEN and SEC were significantly associated with idiopathic male infertility (P-value for trend=0.036; 0.002; and 0.0001, respectively), while these exposures had stronger association with infertile subjects with at least one abnormal semen parameter than those with all normal semen parameters. Exposures to DAI, GEN and SEC were also related to idiopathic male infertility with abnormal sperm concentration, number per ejaculum and motility (P-value for trend<0.05), while these exposures had stronger association with the infertile men with abnormal sperm number per ejaculum. These findings provide the evidence that PE exposures are related to male reproductive function and raise a public health concern because that exposure to PEs is ubiquitous in China.

Xia Y ，Chen M ，Zhu P ，Lu C ，Fu G ，Zhou X ，Chen D ，Wang H ，Hang B ，Wang S ，Zhou Z ，Sha J ，Wang X ... -  《-》

Associations of urinary phytoestrogens with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in adults: a population-based cohort study.

Xuan C ，Zhao C ，Zhou TT ，Guo JJ ，Pan D ，Wang ZB ，He GW ... -  《Frontiers in Endocrinology》