Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40220336›Full record

ArticleAndrology2026

Fetal exposure to a mixture of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and biomarkers of male fecundity: A population-based cohort study.

Sidsel Dan Hull, Karin Sørig Hougaard, Gunnar Toft, Kajsa Kirstine Ugelvig Petersen, Esben Meulengracht Flachs, Christian Lindh, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen, Lauren A Wise, Allen Wilcox, Zeyan Liew and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Andrology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Sidsel Dan HullDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0001-6198-3256
Karin Sørig HougaardDepartment of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Gunnar ToftSteno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Kajsa Kirstine Ugelvig PetersenDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Esben Meulengracht FlachsDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Christian LindhDivision of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-7435-9890
Cecilia Høst Ramlau-HansenDepartment of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Lauren A WiseDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2138-3752
Allen WilcoxNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Zeyan LiewDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Jens Peter BondeDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Sandra Søgaard TøttenborgDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0001-7742-4360

Funding

A.P. Møller Foundation 16-37Axel Muusfeldt's Foundation 2016-491Capital Region of DenmarkDagmar Marshalls FondDanish Council for Independent Research DFF-1133-00042BEuropean UnionFerringFocused Research Effort on Chemicals in the Working Environment II (FFIKA 2)HelsefondenIntereg V ÖKS 20200407Lundbeck Foundation R170-2014-855Medical doctor Sofus Carl Emil Friis and spouse Olga Doris Friis's GrantNovo Nordisk Foundation 0602-02738BNovo Nordisk Foundation 195/04Novo Nordisk Foundation 2009-07-28Novo Nordisk Foundation 2010-11-12Novo Nordisk Foundation 271-08-0839/06-066023Novo Nordisk Foundation O602-01042BNovo Nordisk Foundation R100-A9193Novo Nordisk Foundation R170-2014-855Novo Nordisk Foundation SSVF0646Region Skaane
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFetal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has been associated with reduced male fecundity, but with few studies considering chemical mixtures.

objectivesWe assessed the association between fetal exposure to a mixture of EDCs and biomarkers of male fecundity in young adulthood. MATERIALS AND

methodsThe study population comprised 841 young adult males enrolled in the Fetal Programming of Semen Quality cohort, established as a male offspring sub-cohort within the Danish National Birth Cohort. Maternal blood samples were analyzed for concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phthalate metabolites, and triclosan. We used quantile g-computation to estimate the change in semen characteristics, testicular volume, and reproductive hormone levels with 95% confidence intervals (CI) per one-quartile increase in all chemicals within three chemical mixtures; an overall chemical mixture, a PFAS mixture, and a non-persistent chemical mixture.

resultsFetal exposure to a one-quartile increase in the overall chemical mixture was associated with 4.0 million/mL lower sperm concentration (95% CI: -9.1, 1.1), 16.1 million lower total sperm count (95% CI: -33.8, 1.6), 0.5 mL smaller testicular volume (95% CI: -1.2, 0.3), 5% higher proportion of non-progressive and immotile spermatozoa (95% CI: 0.99, 1.11), and 7% higher concentration of FSH (95% CI: 0.99, 1.16), but with limited precision. Effect sizes were greatest in magnitude for sperm concentration and total sperm count. We observed somewhat similar associations for the PFAS mixture and no associations for the non-persistent chemical mixture. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that fetal exposure to an overall mixture of EDCs may be adversely associated with several biomarkers of male fecundity, but findings are also compatible with null associations. These associations, if true, appeared to be driven by PFAS, but misclassification due to a single measurement of the phthalate metabolites and triclosan may have attenuated the results.

Indexed as

Endocrine DisruptorsFertilityInfertility, MalePrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsAdultBiomarkersCohort StudiesDenmarkFemaleFluorocarbonsHumansMalePhthalic AcidsPregnancySemen AnalysisSperm CountBiomarkersEndocrine DisruptorsFluorocarbonsphthalic acidPhthalic AcidsTriclosanchemical mixturesearly life exposuresendocrine‐disrupting chemicals (EDCs)environmental pollutantsreproductive hormonessemen quality

Identifiers

PMID40220336
PMCPMC12670469

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.