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Reproductive outcomes and Y chromosome instability in radiation‐exposed male workers in cardiac catheterization laboratory
Author(s) -
Andreassi Maria Grazia,
Borghini Andrea,
Vecoli Cecilia,
Piccaluga Emanuela,
Guagliumi Giulio,
Del Greco Maurizio,
Gaita Fiorenzo,
Picano Eugenio
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
environmental and molecular mutagenesis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1098-2280
pISSN - 0893-6692
DOI - 10.1002/em.22341
Subject(s) - medicine , offspring , azoospermia , physiology , genetics , biology , pregnancy , infertility
Occupational radiation exposure may impact the reproductive outcome of male workers in the cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath Lab) who receive a dose of ~1–10 mSv/year. An increased copy number variation (CNV) in azoospermia factor region c (AZFc) of the Y chromosome is a marker of spermatogenic failure, previously associated with radiation exposure. This study sought to investigate the association between paternal exposure in the Cath Lab and adverse reproductive outcomes as well as to assess the induction of CNV in the AZFc region. In a case–control study, we enrolled 193 catheterization lab workers (Group I) and 164 age‐matched unexposed controls (Group II). Reproductive outcomes were assessed through a structured questionnaire. Two sequence‐tagged sites (SY1197 and SY579) in AZFc region were evaluated by qRT‐PCR in 83 exposed and 47 unexposed subjects. Exposed workers had a higher prevalence of low birth weight in offspring (Group I = 13% vs. II = 5.3%, P = 0.02; OR adjusted = 2.7; 95% CI: 1.1–6.3; P = 0.02). The mean of CNV (microdeletion and microduplication) for SY1197 was significantly higher in the exposed workers (Group I = 1.53 ± 0.85 vs. Group II = 1.02 ± 0.41; P = 0.0005). Despite the study design limitations, our findings show that chronic occupational radiation exposure of male workers is correlated with higher prevalence of low birth weight in offspring and instability in the Y chromosome AZFc region. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 61:361–368, 2020. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.