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Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay Analysis of Iranian Mustard Gas Casualties: A Long-Term Outlook

Objectives: Exposure to mustard gas, a vesicant chemical warfare agent, has widespread early and long-term effects on the affected subjects. However, long-term effects of mustard gas on sperm chromatin structure have not been fully identified. The purpose of the present study was to examine sperm DNA integrity as a long-term complication in mustard gas casualties. Patients and Methods: A total of 268 subjects including 66 mustard gas-injured infertile men (aged 37–55 years) (group 1), 68 mustard gas-injured fertile men (aged 39–57 years) (group 2), 68 non-mustard gas-injured infertile controls (group 3) with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (aged 35–55 years), and 66 non-mustard gas-injured normozoospermic healthy fertile control men (aged 35–55 years) (group 4) were recruited in the study. Sperm DNA integrity was assessed using sperm chromatin structure assay. Ultrasonography of scrotal contents, serum luteinizinghormone, follicle stimulating hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin, testosterone measurements and semen analysis were performed. Results: There was a significant increase in the frequency of sperm DNA damage in mustard gas-injured men compared with matched controls. For DNA fragmentation index (DFI), the mean value for mustard gasinjured infertile men was 41.6 ± 4.4% compared with 35.8 ± 4.5% among the non-mustard gas-injured infertile men (p = 0.01). Severely injured mustard gas casualties have a significantly increased DFI (44.8 ± 4.2%) compared with moderate (40.4 ± 4.3%) and mild (36.7 ± 4.5%) exposure to mustard gas (p = 0.01). Conclusion: There are strong correlations between the levels of mustard gas exposure and sperm DNA damage as measured by DFI.