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There is an ongoing debate on the declining semen quality, and unfortunately, existing evidence is inconclusive and inconsistence. We evaluated the impact of sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, medical history and work exposure on semen quality. Univariate and multivariate analysis was used to investigate the association between different risk factors and semen quality parameters. Total sperm count (p = 0.041), sperm concentration (p = 0.007), normal morphology (p = 0.002), total motility (p = 0.004) and progressive motility (p = 0.009) decreased in men with varicocele. Sperm concentration increased in tea (p = 0.044); progressive and total motility increased in cola (p = 0.018, p = 0.012) consumers. Progressive and total motility decreased in urogenital surgery (p = 0.016, p = 0.014) and infection (p = 0.037, p = 0.022). However, age, coffee and alcohol drinking, physical activities, sleep duration and cell phone use were unrelated to any of semen parameters. Interestingly, semen volume (p < 0.0001), total sperm count (p < 0.0001) and concentration (p < 0.033) increased with longer abstinence period (>5 days); normal morphology (p = 0.013) improved in men with higher body mass index (BMI > 24), curvilinear velocity (p = 0.042) increased with smoking; semen volume (p = 0.050) increased in manual labourers. This study highlights the importance of sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, occupational exposure and medical history and provides time trends in semen quality, its clinical importance and direction for further research.

No abstract

Chromium is an essential element that is required for the normal physiology but can be toxic to humans above a certain level. In spite of growing interest in research on chromium exposure to human health consensus about its effect on human, semen quality has not been achieved. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of chromium exposure on semen parameters. A total of 760 males attending andrology laboratory of Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, for routine semen analysis were enrolled and requested to provide semen and urine samples. The urine level of chromium was evaluated using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) was applied to examine semen parameters. Associations between semen parameters and urinary chromium were analyzed by means of multivariate linear regression analysis. Multivariate analysis showed a negative association between the urinary concentrations of chromium and progressive motility (β = − 0.014, p = 0.040) and total motility (β = − 1.077, p = 0.048), while other semen parameters did not show any statistically significant changes. Urinary chromium could influence semen quality parameters and impair male fecundity.

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