Epidemiological Evidence of the Effects of Environmental Pollution on Male Reproductive Health in an Electronic Waste-Recycling Town

摘要

In recent years have seen increasing evidence linking occupational and environmental exposure to toxic pollutants with human male reproductive disorders. The aim of this study was to collect epidemiological information on male reproductive health to explore the effects of electronic waste (e-waste) environmental pollution on male genital health in Wenling, one of the world's biggest e-waste recycling centers. We collected clinic information from 2001 to 2012 in Wenling covering male reproductive diseases, including prostatitis, epididymitis, orchitis, urinary tract infections, cystospermitis, impotence, condyloma accuminatum, syphilis, gonorrhea, varicocele, genital herpes, prostatic carcinoma, etc. The morbidity of male reproductive diseases in Wenling was higher than in the control area - especially those diseases that could be influenced by environmental factors. Male reproductive health may be threatened by e-waste pollution in Wenling, and this could influence local population diathesis.