Do Air Pollutants Have a Short-Term Influence on Couples' Fecundity? An Analysis Relying on Two Novel Study Designs in Parallel

Do Air Pollutants Have a Short-Term Influence on Couples' Fecundity? An Analysis Relying on Two Novel Study Designs in ParallelAbstract Number:2372 Lise Giorgis-Allemand*, Florence Pittion, Sébastien Bottagisi, Ditte Norbo Sorensen, Aline Bohet, Béatrice Ducot, Niels Keiding, Jean Bouyer, and Rémy Slama Lise Giorgis-Allemand* French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm U823), France, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Florence Pittion French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm U823), France Search for more papers by this author , Sébastien Bottagisi French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm U823), France Search for more papers by this author , Ditte Norbo Sorensen Department of Biostatistics, Copenhagen University, Denmark, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Aline Bohet Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health - Inserm U1018, France, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Béatrice Ducot Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health - Inserm U1018, France, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Niels Keiding Department of Biostatistics, Copenhagen University, Denmark, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Jean Bouyer Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health - Inserm U1018, France, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , and Rémy Slama French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm U823), France, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author AbstractBackground: A small number of studies have suggested a possible short-term impact of atmospheric pollutants on male fecundity parameters and on fecundity, a couple’s ability to conceive.Objectives: Our aim was to characterize the short-term influence of atmospheric pollutants on the fecundity of couples from the general population using two novel study designs.Methods: We recruited a random sample of couples not using any contraceptive method. Couples were asked about the time elapsed since the start of the Period of Unprotected Intercourse (PUI), which was used as the outcome of the current duration (CD) analysis. Couples were followed up during two years to constitute a prevalent cohort (PC), from which time to pregnancy was estimated. The background air quality monitoring station closest to the home allowed estimating the level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and of particulate matter with diameter below 10μm (PM10), during the 70 days before the start of the PUI (CD analysis) and before the inclusion (PC analysis). Adjusted analyses were performed using an Accelerated Failure Time model (CD analysis) or Cox regression with delayed entry and censoring (PC analysis).Results: In CD analysis, NO2 and PM10 levels (known for 387 and 333 couples, respectively) were associated with an increased duration of PUI but this association disappeared after correcting for the bias due to decreasing temporal trends in air pollution (corrected p-values: 0.8 for NO2 and 0.6 for PM10). In the PC analysis, neither NO2 (274 couples) nor PM10 (236 couples) were associated with a decreased risk of pregnancy (hazard ratio of pregnancy for an increase of 10μg/m3: 0.9 for NO2, 95% CI 0.7-1.2, and 0.7 for PM10, 95%CI 0.4-1.4). Discussion: Our parallel analyses relying on two designs that provide independent estimates did not show evidence of a deleterious short-term effect of PM10 or NO2 on fecundity.