Infertility

Female infertility is associated with arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Male infertility is related to lead, cadmium and other heavy metals.

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ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HEAVY METALS EXPOSURE AND INFERTILITY AMONG AMERICAN WOMEN 

Urinary Arsenic was significantly associated with female infertility, and the risk of infertility increased with higher urinary Arsenic levels. To some extent, urinary Cadmium was correlated with infertility. Blood/urine Lead was related to infertility in advanced age and overweight/obese women. 
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Lin, Jie et al. “Association between heavy metals exposure and infertility among American women aged 20-44 years: A cross-sectional analysis from 2013 to 2018 NHANES data.” Frontiers in public health vol. 11 1122183. 14 Feb. 2023, doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1122183

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ABOUT LEAD AND OTHER HEAVY METALS AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Lead and other heavy metals can alter men's hormones and affect sperm health, reducing fertility.
Exposure to lead and other heavy metals before or during pregnancy might increase risks of miscarriage, stillbirth, and birth defects.
Lead and other heavy metals can enter breast milk and harm a child's brain development.
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CDC. “About Lead and Other Heavy Metals and Reproductive Health.” Reproductive Health and the Workplace, 2024, www.cdc.gov/niosh/reproductive-health/prevention/lead-metals.html

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REVISITING CADMIUM-INDUCED TOXICITY IN THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM: AN UPDATE

According to recent researches, the testes are extremely vulnerable to cadmium. The disruption of the blood-testis barrier, seminiferous tubules, Sertoli cells, and Leydig cells caused by cadmium leads to the loss of sperm through various mechanisms, such as oxidative stress, spermatogenic cell death, testicular swelling, dysfunction in androgen-producing cells, interference with gene regulation, disruption of ionic homeostasis, and damage to the vascular endothelium. Additionally, through epigenetic control, cadmium disrupts the function of germ cells and somatic cells, resulting in infertile or subfertile males. 

Bhardwaj, Jitender Kumar et al. “Revisiting cadmium-induced toxicity in the male reproductive system: an update.” Archives of toxicology vol. 98,11 (2024): 3619-3639. doi:10.1007/s00204-024-03871-7