Objectives

The objectives of the INUENDO study are to unravel the impact of environmental exposure to xenobiotic compounds with hormon-like actions on human fertility. We set up a series of interrelated studies in Inuit and European populations with a high contrast of exposure to study

• Time to pregnancy as a measure of a couple’s joint reproductive performance.
• Semen quantity and quality to substantiate whether possible effects on couples fertility is attributable to reduced male fecundity.
• Reproductive hormones in adults and male offspring to indicate whether a possible adverse effect on time to pregnancy or semen quality is attributable to disruption of sex hormone regulation.
• Total estrogenic and androgenic activities in blood cleared for endogenous steroid hormones as a direct measure of the potential hormon-like action of biopersistent organochlorines and other environmental pollutants.

The native population in Greenland consuming sea mammals is one of the highest biopersistent organochlorine exposed populations in the world

A population from Warsaw was selected to provide a sample of an averagely exposed European population

In Ukraine recent studies have shown high levels of bio persistent organochlorines in tissues of inhabitantsIn Ukraine recent studies have shown high levels of bio persistent organochlorines in tissues of inhabitants

Fishermen and their families consuming seafood from the polluted Baltic Sea have three times higher tissue levels of persistent organochlorines than fishermen living at the west coast of Sweden and the general population