Hygienic aspects of the exposure to chemical and physical environmental factors on reproductive health in men of fertile age (literature review)

Reduced fertility in men of reproductive age due to the multi-stage nature, duration, and increased vulnerability of spermatogenesis to effects of environmental factors, primarily chemical and physical ones, is a pressing problem of hygiene and preventive medicine. To identify key areas of development and improvement of the methodology for solving this scientific problem, first of all, it is necessary to systematize knowledge in the field of studying patterns and characteristics of effects produced by environmental exposures on reproductive potential.

In this review there are reflected hygienic aspects of effects produced by chemical and physical factors on reproductive health  in men, which have been presented in scientific practice over the last twenty five years. The subject of this review was materials found in Russian and international scientometric databases (eLIBRARY, PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus) and scientific societies and associations of the Russian Federation containing information on peculiar effects produced by chemical and physical environmental factors on reproductive health (160 reports).

By now, direct and indirect effects produced by chemical and physical factors on male reproductive health have been established, characterized by morphological and functional disorders of the reproductive system itself or indirect induction of a cascade of oxidative, inflammatory, and other in the body, the pathogenetic mechanisms of which can disrupt the reproductive function at various levels of its regulation through the endocrine, immune, nervous, cardiovascular, and other systems. Despite the existing general scientific achievements in this research area, difficulties and limitations have been identified as regards effects on fertility produced not only by chemical and physical factors or their combined effects but also lifestyle, bad habits, infectious and chronic diseases. This complicates the process of substantiating the true determinant. Systematization of patterns and identification of peculiar direct and indirect influence of environmental factors, primarily chemical and physical ones, on reproductive health provides a more detailed insight into pathogenetic mechanisms of their impact and allows increasing effectiveness of early diagnosis and targeted correction of identified male fertility disorders. This is critically important for maintaining and strengthening reproductive health of the country’s population and ensuring sustainable demographic development of the state.

Contribution:
Zemlyanova M.A. — study design and editing the text;
Koldibekova J.V. — data collection and analysis, writing the text;
Kamenskikh D.M. — data collection and analysis, writing the text.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: September 21, 2025 / Accepted: October 15, 2025 / Published: November 14, 2025

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