Reproductive health effects due to pesticide exposure amongst boys in the rural Western Cape, South Africa
Master Thesis
2011
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
Contemporary agricultural pesticides have been shown to possess hormonally-active properties, and have been associated with declining male reproductive health. These chemicals act by disrupting the normal functioning of the male endocrine system, through their actions on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Reported male reproductive abnormalities are reproductive organ defects, cancers and declining fertility. Cryptorchidism, hypospadias, testicular cancer and poor sperm quality (testicular dysgenesis syndrome) have also been reported to be associated with these endocrine-disrupting chemicals. This study therefore aims to investigate the adverse reproductive health effects of environmental pesticide exposure in male children and adolescents, based on their lifetime residential history (namely, having lived on a farm or not).
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English, R. 2011. Reproductive health effects due to pesticide exposure amongst boys in the rural Western Cape, South Africa. University of Cape Town.