Urinary bisphenol A and semen quality, the LIFE Study

- Five hundred and one men were recruited of which 83% provided urine and semen samples for analysis.
- Geometric mean total urinary BPA concentration was 0.55 ng/mL (95% CI 0.49-0.63).
- Only one significant association was observed between urinary BPA concentrations and DNA fragmentation (β = −0.0544, p = 0.035).
- No evidence that BPA diminishes semen quality in this cohort.

Bisphenol A (BPA), a high-production volume industrial chemical found in several consumer products, has been negatively associated with sperm quality. This study aimed to estimate the association between BPA and 35 measures of semen quality among reproductive aged men recruited from 16 counties in Michigan and Texas, 2005-2009. Of 501 enrolled males, 418 (83.4%) provided a urine sample and at least one semen sample. Linear and logistic regression models assessed the association between urinary BPA levels and individual semen quality endpoints. Generalized estimating equations were used to account for repeated measures of semen quality and adjusted models accounted for 11 a priori covariates. Geometric mean total urinary BPA concentration among participants was 0.55 ng/mL (95% CI 0.49-0.63). A negative relation between BPA and DNA fragmentation was the sole significant finding in adjusted linear regression (β = −0.0544, p = 0.035) and suggestive of less sperm DNA damage.