Lifestyle Causes Of Male Infertility

 

Table of Contents

 

Introduction: 3

Smoking: 3

Alcohol: 3

Obesity: 4

Recreational Drug Use: 4

Genital Heat Stress: 5

Psychological Stress: 5

Occupational And Environmental Factors: 6

Endocrine Disruptor Compounds: 6

Heavy Metals: 7

References: 8

 


 

Introduction:

Male infertility refers to fertile females who are unable to cause pregnancy. In humans, it accounts for 40-50% of infertility. It affects about 7%of all men. Male infertility is usually due to defects in semen, the quality of which is used as an alternative measure of male fertility.



Factors of particular attention in the scientific literature are recognized health risks such as smoking, alcohol and obesity. Other factors are also being considered in the literature, including drug use, genital heat stress, psychological stress and cellular telephone. These factors receive much less attention and the evidence for their impact on semen quality and male fertility remain inconclusive.

Smoking:

 Cigarette smoke is identified as Somatic Carcinogen and Cell Mutagen. There is considerable evidence that proves smoking adversely affects male reproductive health, although the impact of smoking on male fertility has been a highly controversial issue. Some early studies have found no association between smoking and sperm quality or damage to sperm DNA, while others have only found effects on sperm volume.

The harmful effects of smoking on fertility in men are now clear. Tobacco effects can be observed at the microscopic and molecular levels. Under the microscope, sperm concentration, motility and morphology are affected. At the molecular level, increased risk of sperm aneuploidy, sperm membrane phospholipid asymmetry and sperm DNA fragmentation higher levels of oxidative stress in semen has been recorded. In addition, smoking in pregnant women during pregnancy may have an adverse and irreversible effect on the semen quality of male offspring, in addition to a higher risk of birth defects in offspring and childhood cancers.

Alcohol:

Alcoholism has been associated with reproductive health disorders such as impotence or testicular atrophy. With an increase in alcohol intake, spermatogenesis seems to gradually worsen. Chronic drinking has an adverse effect on male reproductive hormones and semen quality. A case-control study conducted in Japan showed that alcohol intake in infertile men was significantly higher than in the control group. Alcohol exposure in vitro induces sperm motility and morphological reduction, and response is dose-dependent. Another concern is that concurrent toxicity habits may have a synergistic effect on male reproduction. The synergy of alcohol and smoking consumption on the parameters of sperm.

Obesity:

A common observation in the Western world is an increase in the average body mass index (BMI) in the general population which leads to an increase in the prevalence of obesity. Several studies have linked obesity to lower semen parameters in the World Health Organization (WHO). In a study, it was found that the potential male BMI, was associated with infertility (defined as unprotected intercourse after 12 months without pregnancy). They found a dose-response relationship between infertility and male BMI, which is similar for older or younger men. Other authors found that semen parameters (mainly sperm count, motility, or sperm DNA integrity) and/or reproductive hormones (testosterone, inhibin B, estradiol) were affected in men with BMI above or below normal levels.

The maternal BMI may also have an impact on the future semen parameters of male offspring, although the problem is far from UC-Ming. A reverse dose-response was found between maternal BMI and son's inhibin B hormone. In addition, sperm concentration, semen volume, the percentage of active sperm, testosterone and FSH point estimate indicates that the overweight mother's son semen quality is impaired, although these values do not reach statistical significance.



Recreational Drug Use:

Few articles explore the effects of recreational cocaine or marijuana use on semen quality and male reproductive system, and our knowledge remains very preliminary. Cocaine use for five years or more is a more common form of abnormality in men with low sperm motility and low or large concentrations; whereas cocaine use was twice as frequent in the first two years, male authors concluded that, given the high prevalence of cocaine use in the male population, a history of cocaine use should Whan et al. The effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta[9]-THC) on human sperm function in vitro, showed decreased sperm motility and acrosome response. Recently, Badawy et al. The effects of Delta[9]-THC and Delta[8]-THC on sperm mitochondrial O2 consumption (respiration) was investigated, showing that these compounds are potent inhibitors of human sperm mitochondrial O2 consumption. Studies have shown the potential adverse effects of recreational drugs on male fertility, but still, more observational studies are required.

Genital Heat Stress:

Normal sperm production depends on the optimum testes temperature kept below body temperature (usually between 34-35°C). Some experimental studies have shown that heat exposure may reduce semen quality. A moderate increase in the temperature of the male camel (Lama game) altered spermatogenesis and all sperm parameters, while displaying higher destruction of tubules and lower spermatogenesis rates in histological analysis. In humans, occupational activities that require sedentary posture increase the temperature of the scrotum. In observational studies, individuals involved in raising scrotal temperature activity were found to have poor sperm morphology.  Activities such as sitting on a heated floor or leisure experience to damp-heat in hot tub or Jacuzzi can cause damage to the semen quality. However, these effects can be reversible once exposed to heat ends. It was found that the temperature of the scrotum of volunteers wearing wool pants and shirts that fit the body size was significantly higher than that of the tight-fitting and loose-fitting clothing. However, whether elevated temperatures lead to reduced semen quality remains to be studied. in conclusion, nocturnal scrotal cooling in infertile men with a historical record of testicular male descent and oligospermia shows that it has a positive effect on improving semen quality after eight weeks, suggesting that nocturnal scrotal cooling may be a treatment option for some patients.

Psychological Stress:

The impact of male psychological stress on semen quality is an area of great interest that requires further research, especially on a population-based basis. At the molecular level, the mechanisms of stress-related semen mass alterations have not been fully updated. Some groundbreaking levels of antioxidants (glutathione and free-sulphate), as well as motility and morphology of normal sperm reduced stress in healthy subjects, were examined. Some studies suggest that psychological stress in everyday life has little or no effect on semen quality. Among the couples who participated in the fertility clinic.  It was found that the correlation between psychological factors and the damaged semen quality was weak. In men participating in the IVF procedure, the quality of semen samples obtained on the day of egg retrieval was significantly worse than the quality of the first sample analyzed by the same patient. The decline in semen quality in the second sample was due to psychological stress involved in the clinical course.

Occupational And Environmental Factors:

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), such as some polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorines (pesticides) or phthalates (PEs), several heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, and several air pollutants [PAHs], dioxin has been shown to alter the male reproductive system possibly due to disruption of gonad endocrine or direct damage to spermatogenesis. Not surprisingly, occupational activities involving exposure to certain specific chemicals and toxins are associated with infertility. Although the literature on the effects of specific substances on semen quality is expanding, the relationship between environmental chemical exposure and male Infertility Treatment is not always available. Some studies have compared semen parameters and occupational exposure of male partners of infertile couples to fertility clinics. It has been found that there is an association between welding and semen mass reduction (sperm count and viability). In other case-control studies, infertile men were exposed more frequently to organic solvents and electromagnetic fields (engineering technicians, etc).  And heavy metals than normal mental control. Studies have shown that environmental toxins alter the integrity of sperm DNA. DNA debris may be an excellent marker for exposure to reproductive toxicities and diagnostic tools for potential male infertility

Endocrine Disruptor Compounds:

Endocrine-disrupting compound (EDCs) leads to testicular dysplasia syndrome (TDS) and disrupts the development of germinal cell meiosis. Sharpe and Skakkebaek suggested that the male reproductive system is most prone to estrogen surrogates during critical periods of cellular differentiation and organ development in fetal and neonatal life. Exposure to the wrong hormone or an insufficient amount of the right hormone may affect the reproductive system, leading to fertility problems in adulthood. In addition, due to its chemical composition, EDSA is able to cross the blood tissue barrier in the testes, suggesting that intra-tube germ cells may also be directly exposed.

Dietary soy foods also have estrogenic activity and may affect semen quality. The children are extremely sensitive to estradiol before puberty, and even when serum levels are below current detection limits, may increase growth and/or breast development, and changes in hormone levels during fetal and pre-pubertal development may have a serious (potentially irreversible) effect on adult life.

Heavy Metals:

Metal exposure (particularly lead and cadmium) has been associated with low sperm motility and density increased morphological abnormalities and male infertility. Compared to other workers, the metal industry employs a decline in male fertility, as shown by delayed pregnancy and decreased semen quality. The serum and plasma concentrations of cadmium (Cd) in 60 infertile men and 40 normal sperm subjects were analyzed. Semen plasma Cd levels were significantly higher than the serum levels of all subjects. A correlation between serum Cd levels and all biophysical semen parameters except sperm volume was found to be the statistically significant inverse.

 The blood and semen lead concentration of battery and paint factory workers were studied. Their findings included oligospermia and an increase in the percentage of haploid sperm DNA, suggesting a decrease in sperm cell production after occupational exposure to lead. In addition, sperm velocity and forward progressive motility reduced a high percentage of stationary motile spermatozoa, suggesting that sperm motility is delayed between exposed workers. Finally, the increased incidence of teratozoospermia is associated with high blood and semen lead levels.

 

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