nach oben

Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics

Erschienen in:

17.03.2022 | Reproductive Physiology and Disease

Is seminal quality worsening? A 20-year experience in Córdoba, Argentina

verfasst von: Nicolás David Ramírez, Andrea Tissera, Rosa Molina, Pablo Gaggino, Arnaldo Mangeaud, Ana Carolina Martini

Erschienen in: Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics | Ausgabe 5/2022

Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten

Abstract

Purpose

To assess the possible variations in semen quality during the last 20 years in Córdoba, Argentina, and to identify possible causal lifestyle or genitourinary factors.

Methods

Retrospective study of 23,130 patients attending an andrology laboratory. The 20-year period (2001–2020) was divided into four quinquenniums. Seminal parameters (sperm concentration, motility, morphology, viability, and membrane functional integrity) were classified as normal or abnormal according to WHO, and results were expressed as percentage of patients abnormal for each parameter per quinquennium. In addition, the percentage of patients per quinquennium exposed to the different risk factors (daily alcohol and/or tobacco consumption; occupational exposure to heat or toxics; history of parotitis or varicocele; and high body mass index, BMI) was reported.

Results

Patients included in our study did not show impairment in seminal quality over time. Beyond a transient decrease in normozoospermia in the second and third quinquennium, possibly explained by a parallel increase in teratozoospermia, other important parameters of the spermogram did not change. In fact, abnormalities in sperm concentration (oligozoospermia), total sperm count, viability and response to hypoosmotic test showed a decreasing trend over time. On the other hand, parotitis, varicocele, morbid obesity and regular exposition to heat/toxics were the factors more frequently associated with semen abnormalities; the last two increased their frequency over the study period.

Conclusion

The population included in this study did not show a clear impairment in semen quality during the last 20 years. The decreasing patterns found were associated with high BMI and exposure to heat/toxics.

Nelson CMK, Bunge RG. Semen analysis: evidence for changing parameters of male fertility potential. Fertil Steril. 1974;25:503–7.PubMedCrossRef

Carlsen E, Giwercman A, Keiding N, Skakkebaek NE. Evidence for decreasing quality of semen during past 50 years. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 1993;48:200–2.CrossRef

Olsen G, Bodner K, Ramlow J, Ross C, Lipshultz L. Have sperm counts been reduced 50 percent in 50 years? A statistical model revisited. Fertil Steril. 1995;63:887–93.PubMedCrossRef

Fisch H, Goluboff E. Geographic variations in sperm counts: a potential cause of bias in studies of semen quality. Fertil Steril. 1996;65:1044–6.PubMedCrossRef

Bromwich P, Cohen J, Stewart I, Walker A. Decline in sperm counts: an artefact of changed reference range of “normal”? BMJ Open. 1994;309:19–22.

Cocuzza M, Esteves SC. Shedding light on the controversy surrounding the temporal decline in human sperm counts: a systematic review. Sci World J. 2014;2014:365691.CrossRef

Auger J, Kunstmann JM, Czyglik F, Jouannet P. Decline in semen quality among fertile men in Paris during the past 20 years. N Engl J Med. 1995;332:281–5.PubMedCrossRef

Swan SH, Elkin EP, Fenster L. Have sperm densities declined? A reanalysis of global trend data. Environ Health Perspect. 1997;105:1228–32.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

Swan SH, Elkin EP, Fenster L. The question of declining sperm density revisited: an analysis of 101 studies published 1934–1996. Environ Health Perspect. 2000;108:961–6.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

10.

Borges E, Setti AS, de Almeida Ferreira Braga DP, Figueira RdeCS, Iaconelli A. Decline in semen quality among infertile men in Brazil during the past 10 years. Int Braz J Urol. 2015;41:757–63.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

11.

Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino-Andrade A, Mendiola J, Weksler-Derri D, Mindlis I, Pinotti R, Swan SH. Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2017;23:646–59.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

12.

Bahadur G, Ling KLE, Katz M. Statistical modelling reveals demography and time are the main contributing factors in global sperm count changes between 1938 and 1996. Hum Reprod. 1996;11:2635–9.PubMedCrossRef

13.

Benshushan A, Shoshani O, Paltiel O, Schenker JG, Lewin A. Is there really a decrease in sperm parameters among healthy young men? A survey of sperm donations during 15 years. J Assist Reprod Genet. 1997;14:347–53.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

14.

Acacio BD, Gottfried T, Israel R, Sokol RZ. Evaluation of a large cohort of men presenting for a screening semen analysis. Fertil Steril. 2000;73:595–7.PubMedCrossRef

15.

Fisch H, Goluboff ET, Olson JH, Feldshuh J, Broder SJ, Barad DH. Semen analyses in 1,283 men from the United States over a 25-year period: no decline in quality. Fertil Steril. 1996;65:1009–14.PubMedCrossRef

16.

Berling S, Wölner-Hanssen P. No evidence of deteriorating semen quality among men in infertile relationships during the last decade: a study of males from Southern Sweden. Hum Reprod. 1997;12:1002–5.PubMedCrossRef

17.

Elia J, Imbrogno N, Delfino M, Rossi T, Mazzilli R, Nofroni I, Toscano V, Mazzilli F. Comparative study of seminal parameters between samples collected in 1992 and samples collected in 2010. Arch Ital di Urol e Androl. 2012;84:26–31.

18.

Ajayi AB, Ajayi VD, Oyetunji I, Biobaku O, Aikhuele H, Adedamilola A, Ayelehin II, Afolabi BM. Are semen parameters worsening? Comparing semen parameters 10 years apart. Niger Med J. 2017;58:72–5.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

19.

Barrera N, Ordoqui R, Montes JM, Canepa M, Bonelli C, Surka C, Torrens A, Cantú L, Du Plessis SS. The Uruguayan semen donor population: a twenty-eight-year retrospective study. Andrologia. 2020;52:1–10.CrossRef

20.

Ravanos K, Petousis S, Margioula-Siakou C, Papatheodorus A, Panagiotidis Y, Prapas N, Prapas Y. Declining sperm counts … or rather not? A mini review. PediatrEmerg Care. 2018;73:595–605.

21.

Bilotta P, Guglielmo R, Steffe M. Analysis of decline in seminal fluid in the Italian population during the past 15 years. Minerva Ginecol. 1999;51:223–31.PubMed

22.

Latif T, Jensen TK, Mehlsen J, Holmboe SA, Brinth L, Pors K, Skouby SO, Jorgensen N, Lundahl-Jacobsen R. Semen quality as a predictor of subsequent morbidity: a Danish cohort study of 4,712 men with long-term follow-up. Am J Epidemiol. 2017;186:910–7.PubMedCrossRef

23.

Del Giudice F, Kasman AM, Li S, Belladelli F, Ferro M, de Cobelli O, De Berardinis E, Busetto GM, Eisenberg ML. Increased mortality among men diagnosed with impaired fertility: analysis of US claims data. Urology. 2021;147:143–9.PubMedCrossRef

24.

Sengupta P, Dutta S, Krajewska-Kulak E. The disappearing sperms: analysis of reports published between 1980 and 2015. Am J Mens Health. 2017;11:1279–304.PubMedCrossRef

25.

Tortolero I, BellabarbaArata G, Lozano R, Bellabarba C, Cruz I, Osuna JA. Semen analysis in men from Mérida, Venezuela, over a 15-year period. Arch Androl. 1999;42:29–34.PubMedCrossRef

26.

Babakhanzadeh E, Nazari M, Ghasemifar S, Khodadadian A. Some of the factors involved in male infertility: a prospective review. Int J Gen Med. 2020;13:29–41.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

27.

Leisegang K, Dutta S. Do lifestyle practices impede male fertility? Andrologia. 2020;53:1–13.

28.

Boeri L, Capogrosso P, Ventimiglia E, Pederzoli F, Cazzaniga W, Chierigo F, Deho F, Montarini E, Montorsi F, Salonia A. Heavy cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are associated with impaired sperm parameters in primary infertile men. Asian J Androl. 2019;21:478–85.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

29.

Ramírez N, Estofán G, Tissera A, Molina R, Luque EM, Torres PJ, Mangeaud A, Martini AC. Do aging, drinking, and having unhealthy weight have a synergistic impact on semen quality? J Assist Reprod Genet. 2021;38:2985–94.PubMedCrossRef

30.

Ramírez N, Molina RI, Tissera A, Luque EM, Torres PJ, Bianconi S, Beltramone F, Sad Larcher J, Estofán G, Mangeaud A, Martini AC. Recategorisation of body mass index to achieve andrological predictive power: a study in more than 20 000 patients. Reprod Fertil Dev. 2020;32:648–56.PubMedCrossRef

31.

Asafu-Adjei D, Judge C, Deibert CM, Li G, Stember D, Stahl PJ. Systematic review of the impact of varicocele grade on response to surgical management. J Urol. 2020;203:48–56.PubMedCrossRef

32.

World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. Geneva: WHO Technical Report Series; 2000.

33.

World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen. Geneva: WHO Press; 2010.

34.

Makler A. The improved ten microliter chamber for rapid sperm count and motility evaluation. FertilSteril. 1980;33:337–8.

35.

Eliasson R, Treichl L. Supravital staining ofhuman spermatozoa. Fertil Steril. 1971;22:134–7.PubMedCrossRef

36.

Jeyendran RS, Van der Ven HH, Perez-Pelaez M, Crabo BG, Zaneveld LJD. Development of an assay to assess the functional integrity of the human sperm membrane and its relationship to other semen characteristics. Reproduction. 1984;70:219–28.CrossRef

37.

Dadoune JP, Mayaux MJ, Guilhard-Moscato ML. Correlation between defects in chromatin condensation of human spermatozoa stained by aniline blue and semen characteristics. Andrology. 1988;20:211–7.CrossRef

38.

Menkveld R, Stander FS, Kotze TJ, Kruger TF, Van Zyl JA. The evaluation of morphological characteristics of human spermatozoa according to stricter criteria. HumReprod. 1990;5:586–92.

39.

Molina RI, Tissera AD, Estofán LD, Pereyra MC, Hernández M, Dematteis A, Beltramone F, Olmedo J, Estofán D. Valores de referencia locales (Córdoba) para los parámetros del semen humano. Reproduccion. 2012;27:118–25.

40.

Agresti A. An introduction to the categorical data analysis. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons; 2007.CrossRef

41.

Adamopoulos DA, Pappa A, Nicopoulou S, Andreou E, Karamertzanis M, Michopoulos J, Deligianni V, Simou M. Seminal volume and total sperm number trends in men attending subfertility clinics in the Greater Athens area during the period 1977–1993. Hum Reprod. 1996;11:1936–41.PubMedCrossRef

42.

Cannarella R, Condorelli RA, Gusmano C, Barone N, Burrello N, Aversa A, Calogero AE, La Vignera S. Temporal trend of conventional sperm parameters in a sicilian population in the decade 2011–2020. J Clin Med. 2021;10:993–1003.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

43.

Feferkorn I, Shrem G, Azani L, Son WY, Nehushtan T, Salmon-Divon M, Dahan MH. Hope for male fecundity: clinically insignificant changes in semen parameters over 10 years at a single clinic while assessing an infertility population. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02298-8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

44.

Eliasson R. Semen analysis with regard to sperm number, sperm morphology and functional aspects. Asian J Androl Nature Publishing Group. 2010;12:26–32.CrossRef

45.

Pant N, Shukla M, Kumar Patel D, Shukla Y, Mathur N, Kumar Gupta Y, Saxena DK. Correlation of phthalate exposures with semen quality. ToxicolApplPharmacol. 2008;231:112–6.

46.

Nork JJ, Berger JH, Crain DS, Christman MS. Youth varicocele and varicocele treatment: a meta-analysis of semen outcomes. FertilSteril. 2014;102:381–7.

47.

World Health Organisation. Non-communicable diseases country profiles 2018 [Internet]. Geneva: WHO Press; 2018.

48.

Feki NC, Abid N, Rebai A, Sellami A, Ayed B, Guermazi M, Bahloul A, Rebai T, KeskesAmmar L. Semen quality decline among men in infertile relationships: experience over 12 years in the south of Tunisia. J Androl. 2009;30:541–7.PubMedCrossRef

49.

Andolz P, Bielsa MA, Vila J. Evolution of semen quality in North-eastern Spain: a study in 22,759 infertile men over a 36 year period. Hum Reprod. 1999;14:731–5.PubMedCrossRef

50.

Sugihara A, De Neubourg D, Punjabi U. Is there a temporal trend in semen quality in Belgian candidate sperm donors and in sperm donors’ fertility potential from 1995 onwards? Andrology. 2021;9:846–53.PubMedCrossRef

51.

Sripada S, Fonseca S, Lee A, Harrild K, Giannaris D, Mathers E, Bhattacharia S. Trends in semen parameters in the northeast of Scotland. J Androl. 2007;28:313–9.PubMedCrossRef

52.

Haimov-Kochman R, Har-Nir R, Ein-Mor E, Ben-Shoshan V, Greenfield C, Eldar I, Bholah Y, Hurwitz A. Is the quality of donated semen deteriorating? findings from a 15 year longitudinal analysis of weekly sperm samples. Isr Med Assoc J. 2012;14:372–7.PubMed

53.

Lv, Mo-qi and Ge, Pan and Zhang, Jian and Yang, Yan-qi and Zhou, Liang and Zhou, Dang-xia, Temporal Trends in Semen Quality Among 271,545 Chinese Healthy Men From 1981 to 2019. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3714652 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3714652.

54.

Ni K, Steger K, Yang H, Wang H, Hu K, Zhang T, Chen B. A comprehensive investigation of sperm DNA damage and oxidative stress injury in infertile patients with subclinical, normozoospermic, and astheno/oligozoospermic clinical varicocoele. Andrology. 2016;4:816–24.PubMedCrossRef

55.

Parameswari R, Sridharan TB. Cigarette smoking and its toxicological overview on human male fertility—a prospective review. Toxin Rev. 2019;40:145–61.CrossRef

56.

Wu H, Wang F, Tang D, Han D. Mumps orchitis: clinical aspects and mechanisms. Front Immunol. 2021;12:582946.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

57.

Bhattacharya K, Sengupta P, Dutta S, Karkada IR. Obesity, systemic inflammation and male infertility. Chem Biol Lett. 2020;7:92–8.

58.

Nowicka-bauer K, Nixon B. Molecular changes induced by oxidative stress that impair human sperm motility. Antioxidants. 2020;9:1–22.CrossRef

59.

Luque EM, Tissera A, Gaggino MP, Molina RI, Mangeaud A, Vincenti LM, Beltramone F, LarcherJ Sad, Estofán D, Fiol de Cuneo M, Martini AC. Body mass index and human sperm quality: neither one extreme nor the other. Reprod Fertil Dev. 2015;29:731–9.CrossRef

60.

Björndahl L. The usefulness and significance of assessing rapidly progressive spermatozoa. Asian J Androl. 2010;12:33–5.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

61.

Hamilton JAM, Cissen M, Brandes M, Smeenk JMJ, De Bruin JP, Kremer JAM, Nelen WLDM, Hamilton CJCM. Total motile sperm count : a better indicator for the severity of male factor infertility than the WHO sperm classification system. Hum Reprod. 2015;30:1110–21.PubMedCrossRef

62.

Borges E Jr, Setti AS, Braga DPAF, Figueira RCS, Iaconelli A Jr. Total motile sperm count has a superior predictive value over the WHO 2010 cut-off values for the outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. Andrology. 2016;4:880–6.PubMedCrossRef

63.

Walsh B. Male infertility crisis in U.S. has experts baffled [Internet]. 2017. Available from: https://www.newsweek.com/2017/09/22/male-infertility-crisis-experts-663074.html. Accessed Oct 2021.

64.

Halpern DN. Sperm count zero [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://www.gq.com/story/sperm-count-zero. Accessed Oct 2021.

65.

Gyllenborg J, Skakkebæk NE, Nielsen NC, Keiding N, Giwercman A. Secular and seasonal changes in semen quality among young Danish men: a statistical analysis of semen samples from 1927 donor candidates during 1977–1995. Int J Androl. 1999;22:28–36.PubMedCrossRef

66.

Jørgensen N, Joensen UN, Jensen TK, Jensen MB, Almstrup K, Olesen IA, Juul A, Andersson AM, Carlsen E, Petersen JH, Toppari J, Shajjebaek NE. Human semen quality in the new millennium: a prospective cross-sectional population-based study of 4867 men. BMJ Open. 2012;2:1–13.CrossRef

67.

Punjani N, Al Hussein Alawamlh O, Kim SJ, Salter CA, Wald G, Feliciano M, Dduley VL, Li PS, Goldstein M. Changes in semen analysis in untreated non-azoospermic patients over time: a temporal trend assessment of 23 years. Fertil Steril. 2020;114:24–5.CrossRef

68.

Jalal H, Bahadur G, Knowles W, Jin L, Brink N. Mumps epididymo-orchitis with prolonged detection of virus in semen and the development of anti-sperm antibodies. J Med Virol. 2004;73:147–50.PubMedCrossRef

69.

World Health Organization (WHO). The influence of varicocele on parameters of fertility in a large group of men presenting to infertility clinics. FertilSteril. 1992;57:1289–93.

70.

Calderón B, Huerta L, Casado ME, González-Casbas JM, Botella-Carretero JI, Martín-Hidalgo A. Morbid obesity–related changes in the expression of lipid receptors, transporters, and HSL in human sperm. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2019;36:777–86.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

71.

Ricci E, Noli S, Ferrari S, La Vecchia I, Cipriani S, De Cosmi V, Somigliana E, Parazzini F. Alcohol intake and semen variables: cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort study of men referring to an Italian Fertility Clinic. Andrology. 2018;6:690–6.PubMedCrossRef

72.

Anifandis G, Bounartzi T, Messini CI, Dafopoulos K, Sotiriou S, Messinis IE. The impact of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption on sperm parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) measured by Halosperm®. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2014;290:777–82.PubMedCrossRef

73.

Bai S, Wan Y, Zong L, Li W, Xu X, Zhao Y, Hu X, Zuo Y, Xu B, Tong X, Guo T. Association of alcohol intake and semen parameters in men with primary and secondary infertility: a cross-sectional study. Front Physiol. 2020;11:1–9.

74.

Gomathi C, Balasubramaniak K, Bhanu NV, Srikanth V, Govindarajulu P. Effect of chronic alcoholism on semen—studies on lipid profiles. Int J Androl. 1993;16:175–81.PubMedCrossRef

75.

Ondorelli RA, Calogero AE, Vicari E, La Vignera S. Chronic consumption of alcohol and sperm parameters: our experience and the main evidences. Andrologia. 2015;47:368–79.CrossRef

76.

Irvine S, Cawood E, Richardson D, Macdonald E, Aitken J, Iii MWI. Evidence of deteriorating semen quality in the United Kingdom. Bmj. 1996;312:467–71.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

77.

Boulicault M, Perret M, Galka J, Borsa A, Gompers A, Reiches M, Richardson S. The future of sperm: a biovariability framework for understanding global sperm count trends. Hum Fertil. 2021;1:1–26.CrossRef

78.

Martini AC, Molina RI, Estofán D, Senestrari D, Fiol De Cuneo M, Ruiz RD. Effects of alcohol and cigarette consumption on human seminal quality. Fertil Steril. 2004;82:374–7.PubMedCrossRef

79.

Kaya C, Aykaç A, Kaya Y, Taş M. The effect of modifiable lifestyle factors on semen quality. Rev IntAndrol. 2020;18:151–8.

Titel: Is seminal quality worsening? A 20-year experience in Córdoba, Argentina
verfasst von: Nicolás David Ramírez
Andrea Tissera
Rosa Molina
Pablo Gaggino
Arnaldo Mangeaud
Ana Carolina Martini
Publikationsdatum: 17.03.2022
Verlag: Springer US
Erschienen in: Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics / Ausgabe 5/2022
Print ISSN: 1058-0468
Elektronische ISSN: 1573-7330
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02458-4

Neu im Fachgebiet Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe

Antikörper-Wirkstoff-Konjugat hält solide Tumoren in Schach

16.05.2024 Zielgerichtete Therapie Nachrichten

Trastuzumab deruxtecan scheint auch jenseits von Lungenkrebs gut gegen solide Tumoren mit HER2-Mutationen zu wirken. Dafür sprechen die Daten einer offenen Pan-Tumor-Studie.

Mammakarzinom: Senken Statine das krebsbedingte Sterberisiko?

15.05.2024 Mammakarzinom Nachrichten

Frauen mit lokalem oder metastasiertem Brustkrebs, die Statine einnehmen, haben eine niedrigere krebsspezifische Mortalität als Patientinnen, die dies nicht tun, legen neue Daten aus den USA nahe.

S3-Leitlinie zur unkomplizierten Zystitis: Auf Antibiotika verzichten?

15.05.2024 Harnwegsinfektionen Nachrichten

Welche Antibiotika darf man bei unkomplizierter Zystitis verwenden und wovon sollte man die Finger lassen? Welche pflanzlichen Präparate können helfen? Was taugt der zugelassene Impfstoff? Antworten vom Koordinator der frisch überarbeiteten S3-Leitlinie, Prof. Florian Wagenlehner.

Gestationsdiabetes: In der zweiten Schwangerschaft folgenreicher als in der ersten

13.05.2024 Gestationsdiabetes Nachrichten

Das Risiko, nach einem Gestationsdiabetes einen Typ-2-Diabetes zu entwickeln, hängt nicht nur von der Zahl, sondern auch von der Reihenfolge der betroffenen Schwangerschaften ab.

Update Gynäkologie

Bestellen Sie unseren Fach-Newsletter und bleiben Sie gut informiert – ganz bequem per eMail.

Newsletter bestellen

Die Highlights vom Kongress des American College of Cardiology 2024

Springer Medizin

Is seminal quality worsening? A 20-year experience in Córdoba, Argentina