الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Smoking can be done either by cigarette smoking, hookah smoking, cigar and pipe smoking, chewing tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and nicotine patches. The smoking index is a unit for measuring cigarettes consumption over a long period and is calculated using the following formula: smoking index = CPD × years of tobacco use. Smoking has been shown to have a harmful effect on various parameters of semen analysis. One of the major active components of smoke that influence semen parameters is the heavy metals cadmium. It has been well established that excess cadmium exposure produces adverse health effects on human beings. Cadmium affects the male reproductive system from embryonic stages to adulthood, and has adverse effects on gonadal development, oxidative stress, endocrine system, sperm chromatin integrity and DNA stability, spermatogenesis and semen parameters. Cadmium is proved to be a possible causative agent for the low sperm density among smokers. Sperm motility is also severely affected by cadmium. It has also been revealed that cadmium can inhibit the chromatin condensation process, which is important for sperm maturation. This is a significant limiting factor in fertility potential. The aim of this study was to measure the serum and seminal plasma cadmium level in smokers and to compare its level to non |