Urinary concentrations of parabens and reproductive parameters in young men

Highlights: • Urinary paraben concentrations were quantified to estimate environmental exposure • Semen quality and serum reproductive hormone levels were evaluated • No associations between parabens and any of the reproductive parameters were observed • Urinary paraben concentrations may not adversely impact male reproductive function Parabens are a group of alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid that are commonly added to personal care products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and beverage and food processing as antimicrobial preservatives. Parabens have been reported to show estrogenic effects and affect male reproduction function in animal models, but human epidemiologic studies are still scarce. The objective of this study was to examine associations between urinary concentrations of parabens and semen quality and reproductive hormone levels. This was a cross-sectional study with 215 young university students (18–23 years old) recruited between 2010 and 2011 in Southern Spain (Murcia Region). All men provided a urine, blood and semen sample on a single day. Urinary paraben concentrations (methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben) were measured by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection. Semen quality was evaluated by measuring volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count (TSC), motility and morphology following WHO guidelines. Serum samples were analyzed for reproductive hormones, including follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone, inhibin B and estradiol using immunoassays. Associations between urinary concentrations of parabens and semen quality parameters and reproductive hormone levels were examined using linear regression, adjusting for potential covariates. Ninety-four percent of the men had detectable urinary concentrations of parabens. After taking into account important covariates, urinary concentrations of parabens or their molar sum were not significantly associated with any semen parameters or any of the reproductive hormone levels. Relative to men in the lowest quartile of sum of urinary paraben concentrations, the adjusted difference (95% CI) of TSC (millions) for men in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartiles were 4.1% (− 37.1;45.3), − 1.6% (− 41.9;38.8), and − 9.8% (− 52.5;32.8), respectively (P-trend = 0.55). Our results suggest that, in young men, urinary parabens may not adversely impact reproductive function, but further research is warranted to confirm these findings in other male populations.