{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T11:24:17Z","timestamp":1785929057724,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,30]],"date-time":"2018-08-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1535587200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH","award":["ES014460"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ES014460"]}]},{"name":"European Commission through its Sixth Framework Programme for RTD","award":["FOOD-CT-2006\u2013016253, PHIME"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FOOD-CT-2006\u2013016253, PHIME"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Semen quality may be adversely affected by exposure to environmental chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs) that are persistent and may act as endocrine disrupting compounds. The aim of this study was to explore whether PCBs or PFASs exposure were associated with abnormalities in semen quality or reproductive hormones in Faroese men. This population based cross-sectional study includes 263 Faroese men (24\u201326 years) who delivered a semen sample for assessment of sperm concentration, total sperm count, semen volume, morphology and motility. A blood sample was drawn and analyzed for reproductive hormones, PCBs and PFASs. Exposure to \u2211PCBs and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was positively associated with sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and luteinizing hormone (LH). In addition, total testosterone (T) was positively associated with \u2211PCB. Both PCBs and PFOS appear to lead to increased SHBG, perhaps mediated via the liver. The higher total T associated with PCB may represent a compensatory adaption to elevated SHBG levels to maintain an unchanged free testosterone concentration. The positive association to LH for both PCBs and PFOS may indicate a direct adverse effect on the testosterone producing Leydig cells.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph15091880","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,30]],"date-time":"2018-08-30T10:30:06Z","timestamp":1535625006000},"page":"1880","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":82,"title":["Reproductive Function in a Population of Young Faroese Men with Elevated Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Perfluorinated Alkylate Substances (PFAS)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Maria Skaalum","family":"Petersen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, the Faroes Hospital System, FO-100 T\u00f3rshavn, Faroe Islands"},{"name":"Center of Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Faroe Islands, FO-100 T\u00f3rshavn, Faroe Islands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J\u00f3nrit","family":"Halling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, the Faroes Hospital System, FO-100 T\u00f3rshavn, Faroe Islands"},{"name":"Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Faroe Islands, FO-100 T\u00f3rshavn, Faroe Islands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4827-0838","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Niels","family":"J\u00f8rgensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Flemming","family":"Nielsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Philippe","family":"Grandjean","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark"},{"name":"Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tina Kold","family":"Jensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark"},{"name":"Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8174-3671","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"P\u00e1l","family":"Weihe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, the Faroes Hospital System, FO-100 T\u00f3rshavn, Faroe Islands"},{"name":"Center of Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Faroe Islands, FO-100 T\u00f3rshavn, Faroe Islands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1434","DOI":"10.1289\/ehp.1001975","article-title":"Serum concentrations of antibodies against vaccine toxoids in children exposed perinatally to immunotoxicants","volume":"118","author":"Heilmann","year":"2010","journal-title":"Environ. 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