Résumé :
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[BDSP. Notice produite par INIST-CNRS CUyLkR0x. Diffusion soumise à autorisation]. Between 1996 and 1999, the authors invited all young men from five European countries who were undergoing compulsory medical examination for possible military service to participate in a study on male reproductive health. The participation rate was 19% in two cities in Denmark (n=889), 17% in Oslo, Norway (n=221), 13% in Turku, Finland (n=313), 14% in Kaunas, Lithuania (n=157), and 19% in Tartu, Estonia (n=190). Each man provided a semen sample, was examined by a physician, and, in collaboration with his mother, completed a questionnaire about general and reproductive health, current smoking habits, and exposure to smoking in utero. After adjustment for confounding factors, men exposed to smoking in utero had a reduction in sperm concentration of 20.1% (95% confidence interval (Cl) : 6.8,33.5) and a reduction in total sperm count of 24.5% (95% Cl : 9.5,39.5) in comparison with unexposed men. Percentages of motile and morphologically normal sperm cells were 1.85 (95% Cl : 0.46,3.23) and 0.64 (95% Cl : - 0.02,1.30) percentage points lower, respectively, among men exposed in utero, and exposed men had a 1.15-ml (95% Cl : 0.66,1.64) smaller testis size. The associations were present when data from the study centers were analyzed separately (though not in Lithuania, where only 1% of mothers smoked during pregnancy), although the strength of the association varied. Maternal smoking may have long-term implications for the reproductive health of the offspring. This is another good reason to advise pregnant women to avoid smoking.
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