Semen Abnormalities, Sperm DNA Damage and Global Hypermethylation in Health Workers Occupationally Exposed to Ionizing Radiation. e69927

• Published in: PloS one 2013-07, Vol.8 (7)
• Main Authors: Kumar, Dayanidhi, Salian, Sujith Raj, Kalthur, Guruprasad, Uppangala, Shubhashree, Kumari, Sandhya, Challapalli, Srinivas, Chandraguthi, Srinidhi Gururajarao, Krishnamurthy, Hanumanthappa, Jain, Navya, Kumar, Pratap
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069927

Background Cytogenetic studies have demonstrated that low levels of chronic radiation exposure can potentially increase the frequency of chromosomal aberrations and aneuploidy in somatic cells. Epidemiological studies have shown that health workers occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation bear an increased risk of hematological malignancies. Objectives To find the influence of occupational radiation exposure on semen characteristics, including genetic and epigenetic integrity of spermatozoa in a chronically exposed population. Methods This cross sectional study included 134 male volunteers of which 83 were occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation and 51 were non-exposed control subjects. Semen characteristics, sperm DNA fragmentation, aneuploidy and incidence of global hypermethylation in the spermatozoa were determined and compared between the non-exposed and the exposed group. Results Direct comparison of the semen characteristics between the non-exposed and the exposed population revealed significant differences in motility characteristics, viability, and morphological abnormalities (P