TY - JOUR
T1 - Fetal programming of semen quality (Fepos) cohort – a dnbc male-offspring cohort
AU - Hærvig, Katia Keglberg
AU - Bonde, Jens Peter
AU - Ramlau-Hansen, Cecilia Høst
AU - Toft, Gunnar
AU - Hougaard, Karin Sørig
AU - Specht, Ina Olmer
AU - Giwercman, Aleksander
AU - Andersen, Anne Marie Nybo
AU - Olsen, Jørn
AU - Lindh, Christian
AU - Høyer, Birgit Bjerre
AU - Tøttenbo, Sandra Søgaard
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Background: Prenatal exposures may contribute to male infertility in adult life, but large-scale epidemiological evidence is still lacking. The Fetal Programming of Semen quality (FEPOS) cohort was founded to provide means to examine if fetal exposures can interfere with fetal reproductive development and ultimately lead to reduced semen quality and reproductive hormone imbalances in young adult men. Methods: Young adult men at least 18 years and 9 months of age born to women in the Danish National Birth Cohort living in relative proximity to Copenhagen or Aarhus and for whom a maternal blood sample and two maternal interviews during pregnancy were available were invited to FEPOS. Recruitment began in March 2017 and ended in December 2019. The participants answered a comprehensive questionnaire and underwent a physical examination where they delivered a semen, urine, and hair sample, measured their own testicular volume, and had blood drawn. Results: In total 21,623 sons fulfilled eligibility criteria of whom 5697 were invited and 1058 participated making the response rate 19%. Semen characteristics did not differ between sons from the Copenhagen and Aarhus clinics. When comparing the FEPOS semen parameters to similar cohorts, the median across all semen characteristics was slightly lower for FEPOS participants, although with smaller variation. Conclusion: With its 1058 young adult men, the FEPOS cohort is the largest population-based male-offspring cohort worldwide specifically designed to investigate prenatal determinants of semen quality. Wide-ranging information on maternal health, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, occupation, and serum concentrations of potential reproductive toxicants during pregnancy combined with biological markers of fertility in their sons collected after puberty allow for in-depth investigations of the ‘fetal origins of adult disease hypothesis’.
AB - Background: Prenatal exposures may contribute to male infertility in adult life, but large-scale epidemiological evidence is still lacking. The Fetal Programming of Semen quality (FEPOS) cohort was founded to provide means to examine if fetal exposures can interfere with fetal reproductive development and ultimately lead to reduced semen quality and reproductive hormone imbalances in young adult men. Methods: Young adult men at least 18 years and 9 months of age born to women in the Danish National Birth Cohort living in relative proximity to Copenhagen or Aarhus and for whom a maternal blood sample and two maternal interviews during pregnancy were available were invited to FEPOS. Recruitment began in March 2017 and ended in December 2019. The participants answered a comprehensive questionnaire and underwent a physical examination where they delivered a semen, urine, and hair sample, measured their own testicular volume, and had blood drawn. Results: In total 21,623 sons fulfilled eligibility criteria of whom 5697 were invited and 1058 participated making the response rate 19%. Semen characteristics did not differ between sons from the Copenhagen and Aarhus clinics. When comparing the FEPOS semen parameters to similar cohorts, the median across all semen characteristics was slightly lower for FEPOS participants, although with smaller variation. Conclusion: With its 1058 young adult men, the FEPOS cohort is the largest population-based male-offspring cohort worldwide specifically designed to investigate prenatal determinants of semen quality. Wide-ranging information on maternal health, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, occupation, and serum concentrations of potential reproductive toxicants during pregnancy combined with biological markers of fertility in their sons collected after puberty allow for in-depth investigations of the ‘fetal origins of adult disease hypothesis’.
KW - Fetal exposure
KW - Male infertility
KW - Maternal-fetal exchange
KW - Prenatal exposure
KW - Semen analysis
KW - Semen quality
U2 - 10.2147/CLEP.S242631
DO - 10.2147/CLEP.S242631
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 32765110
AN - SCOPUS:85088493641
VL - 12
SP - 757
EP - 770
JO - Clinical Epidemiology
JF - Clinical Epidemiology
SN - 1179-1349
ER -