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Add one more reason for wanting to stay home from work—it might be making you infertile. From lead to pesticides to photographic chemicals, many workplaces are rife with toxins that can damage sperm DNA and contribute to infertility.
Men who work in jobs where they sustain regular contact with these reproductive toxicants could be at risk for infertility:
| The Job | The Toxins |
| Artist (painter photographer, stained glass artist) |
• Vapors of non-water based paints and thinners/removers; • Photographic chemicals • Soldering byproducts |
| Printer | • Printing inks and adhesives |
| Mechanic (car, aviation) |
• Gasoline • Kerosene • Crude oil products |
| Metal Worker | • Soldering byproducts • Lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium |
| Landscaper/Landscape Architect | • Pesticides |
| Outdoor worker ( utility worker, police officer, construction worker; any worker with sustained exposure to heavy traffic) |
• CO 2 and other air pollutants |
A new test—The Sperm DNA Decondensation (SDD) Test—is a sensitive detector of sperm that has been damaged as a result of exposure to toxicants. Test inventor David Brown, PhD, Research Investigator in the infertility testing lab at Repromedix, has published the results of his research in such prestigious peer-reviewed journals as The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine and Reproductive Toxicology .
If a man's SDD Test is abnormal, his physician should conduct an extensive history to identify which toxicant(s) the patient has been exposed to. The patient should remove himself from the toxic environment for 74 days (the amount of time needed to turn over new sperm) to allow possible reversal of damage. During this time, the physician may also treat the male with antioxidants, and/or other therapies. Then, the SDD Test should be repeated.
If the second SDD test fails, the chances for a successful pregnancy, even through in vitro fertilization, are quite low. These patients would be candidates for sperm donation or adoption.
About Repromedix
Repromedix is the leading national laboratory specializing in advanced reproductive testing. By taking an interdisciplinary approach to clinical testing, the company helps doctors find solutions to their most difficult cases of female and male infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, and high-risk pregnancy.
The company, based in Woburn, MA, was founded in 1994 by CEO Craig Sockol. It serves physicians and their patients throughout the United States and Canada.