Retrospective Study of Inferred Fertility of Married Men Occupationally Exposed to Ethylene Dibromide (EDB)

摘要

A retrospective study of reproductive effects of exposure to ethylene-dibromide (106934) (EDB) in a group of exposed male workers was conducted. Reproductive histories of the wives of EDB exposed workers were examined. Data on the date of birth of each wife, the date of birth of the worker husband, race, dates of birth of all live born natural children, details on adopted children and children by previous marriages of wives, dates of marriages, and other pertinent factors were collected for workers at four firms in the United States. Less complete data was also obtained from one facility in the United Kingdom. A negative result was obtained for all facilities studies except the Houston facility cohort. Examining high and low exposure categories gave no consistent evidence of any dose response relationship. In the Houston cohort, the observed/expected births ratio was consistently and significantly low, suggesting a possible antifertility effect. Relative exposure categories were not available, so any dose response relationship which might exist could not be found. The prevalence of vasectomy among the EDB workers at the site was particularly high.