Effect of hookah (water pipe) smoking on semen parameters

Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Effects of Waterpipe on Oral Health Status: Systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the cytotoxic and genotoxic impacts of waterpipe smoking on oral health. The databases MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Dimensions were searched to find studies evaluating whether waterpipe smokers exhibited any cytotoxic or genotoxic effects on their oral cells compared to non-smokers, with regard to mouth neoplasms. Particularly, changes in DNA methylation and p53 expression were assessed. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were adopted for the systematic review. Review Manager was utilised for statistical analysis with a significance level at P <0.05. To assess the grades of the included articles, a risk of bias analysis was summarised. A forest plot, including some of the included articles included, was created regarding the different grades. A total of 20 studies were included in this review. The results showed that waterpipe smoking has cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on oral cells, with a risk difference of 0.16. Although the published articles are few in number, all confirm the devastating effects of waterpipe smoking related to the carcinogenicity. Waterpipe smoking is harmful to oral health. It causes a series of detrimental cellular and genetic modifications such as acanthosis, epithelial dysplasia and hyperparakeratosis. In addition, waterpipe smoke contains several carcinogenic compounds. As it releases many harmful organic compounds, waterpipe smoking increases the incidence of oral cancer.

Possible Harmful Effects of Smoking Hookah on Sperm DNA Fragmentation Index and Protamine Genes Expression in Normozoospermic Men

Objectives

In recent years, smoking water pipes or hookah has increased among adolescents in most countries. Although there is evidence in support of the negative effects of this type of smoking on human health, such as the increased risk of lung disease, little is known about the potential effects of hookah smoking on the male reproductive system, especially on the molecular aspects of sperm.

Patients and methods

This cross-sectional study examined sperm DNA fragmentation index, protamine 1 and 2 (PRM1 and PRM2) genes expression, and oxidant status in normozoospermic hookah smokers in comparison with non-smoker controls.

Results

Our results showed significantly higher rates of DNA fragmentation, protamine deficiency, and abnormal chromatin condensation in the spermatozoa of hookah smokers (P < .0001). Also, protamine gene expression showed a remarkable decrease in hookah smokers (1.55 ± 2.54 and 0.33 ± 0.54) compared to the controls (3.49 ± 5.41 and 1.22 ± 1.96), although the reduction was not statistically significant (P = .155 and P = .066, respectively). Moreover, a significantly higher level of semen MDA was observed in the case group compared to the controls (0.39 ± 1.04 vs 0.15 ± 0.21; P = .013).

Conclusion

According to our study, although hookah smoking does not have a significant effect on sperm parameters, it may have deleterious effects on DNA integrity, oxidative status, and nuclear protein levels of spermatozoa.

An exposomic approach with 138 chemical and non-chemical exposures to predict 32 biomarkers of male reproductive damages: A case study of college students in Chongqing, China

Male reproductive damage in the general population comprises different disorders in various biomarkers, which could be respectively caused by a number of exposure factors. However, researchers considering the environmental/behavioral/psychological exposures together to evaluate their contribution to male reproductive damage are still lacking. The present study investigated the comprehensive association between 138 environmental/behavioral/psychological exposures and 32 male reproductive biomarkers in 796 young Chinese men using graph-guided fused lasso (GFLASSO) and hierarchical clustering methods. All biomarkers were found to be associated with various exposures. A combination of these exposures not only predicted the levels of single biomarkers in another test dataset, but also identified the comprehensive reproductive features by clustering the men into five subgroups with distinct damages representing disrupted spermatogenesis with abnormal sperm morphology, low sperm motility with DNA fragmentation, chromatin immaturity, aberrant endocrine, or DNA strand breakage. The findings can be used to suggest a novel way to identify the males with a high risk of reproductive damage and develop personalized preventive strategies.