Cadmium Concentrations in Blood and Seminal Plasma: Correlations with Sperm Number and Motility in Three Male Populations (Infertility Patients, Artificial Insemination Donors, and Unselected Volunteers)

Table 1 Comparison of the range of cadmium levels in blood and seminal plasma among three populations of men.^a

Cadmium source	Subjects	n/n′	Median	Interquartile range	Minimum	Maximum	Kruskal-Wallis test P value
Blood plasma
	Group 1: infertility patients Group 2: AI donors Group 3: general population volunteers	91/91 14/23 35/37	0.748^b 0.112 0.099	0.545–0.748 0.096–0.126 0.095–0.124	0.132 0.065 0.063	\(\left. {\matrix{ {0.944} \cr {0.161} \cr {0.145} \cr } } \right\}\)	<0.001
Seminal plasma
	Group 1: infertility patients Group 2: AI donors Group 3: general population volunteers	132/225 14/53 35/76	0.282^b 0.091 0.092	0.241–0.348 0.073–0.102 0.080–0.111	0.091 0.039 0.039	\(\left. {\matrix{ {0.692} \cr {0.190} \cr {0.163} \cr } } \right\}\)	<0.001

^aSamples were assayed in triplicate for cadmium and lead by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results are presented in micrograms per liter. n′ = Total number of observations.
^bPairwise comparisons obtained using Dunn’s method indicate that the range of cadmium levels in IVF patients differed significantly from the other two populations.

ISSN: 1528-3658