Semen quality of young men from the general population in Baltic countries

Ērenpreiss, Juris; Punab, Margus; Žilaitienė, Birutė; Hlevicka, Solveiga; Zayakin, Pawel; Matulevičius, Valentinas; Preikša, Romualdas Tomas; Jørgensen, Niklas Rye

doi:10.1093/humrep/dex062

Cited by 30 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…When sperm concentration, sperm motility, and morphology were recently examined and the semen findings of 1,165 young men of 16À29 years of age were classified into low, intermediate, and high semen quality, low semen quality was present in 11À15%, intermediate semen quality in 37À50%, and high semen quality in 38À52% of the men. 19 In other words, a considerable number of young men have worsening semen findings. Even our study found that 1 in 4 (25.4%) young men in whom any 1 of the factors of semen volume, sperm concentration, or sperm motility did not reach the WHO reference values were classified into the poor semen findings group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erectile Dysfunction is Predictive Symptom for Poor Semen in Newlywed Men in Japan

et al. 2019

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Introduction: As a continuous decline in semen concentration has been reported, the concept of male infertility has gained increased attention. Although several surveys of semen quality have been conducted in young men in general, no study has reported only on newlywed men. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate semen quality and assess its characteristics in newlywed men. Methods: This study included 564 men visiting our hospital or clinic for fertility screening just before their wedding or as newlywed men. Based on the World Health Organization criteria, the rates of men who did not have a semen volume of !1.5 mL, a sperm concentration of !15 million/mL, and a sperm motility rate of !40% were calculated. The characteristics of the poor semen findings group with any 1 of the 3 items of semen volume, sperm concentration, or sperm motility rate not reaching the reference value were evaluated. Main Outcome Measure: Independent factors, which are involved in the poor semen findings group, were evaluated. Results: The poor findings in semen volume, sperm concentration, and sperm motility were found in 11.0%, 9.2%, and 10.6%, respectively. The poor semen findings group included 143 men (25.4%) with any 1 of the 3 items not reaching the reference value. As compared to the normal group, age and body mass index were significantly higher, testicular volume was significantly smaller, and blood gamma-glutamyltransferase and fasting blood sugar levels were significantly higher in the poor semen findings group. Logistic multivariate analysis, including symptom questionnaire scores, blood biochemistry items, and endocrinological items, showed 3 independent factors were involved in the poor semen findings group: age, luteinizing hormone, and erection (Erection Hardness Score). Conclusion: It was clarified that even among men beginning their attempts at pregnancy, semen findings were poor and erectile dysfunction was involved in poor semen quality in one-quarter of the men. Tsujimura A, Hiramatsu I, Nagashima Y, et al. Erectile Dysfunction is Predictive Symptom for Poor Semen in Newlywed Men in Japan. Sex Med 2019;8:21e29.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erectile Dysfunction is Predictive Symptom for Poor Semen in Newlywed Men in Japan

et al. 2019

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“…Subjects were young men from the general population, aged 18–24 years, and often recruited in the context of military conscription. These studies reported median sperm concentration of 41–67 Mio/mL and revealed important regional differences in semen quality underlining once more the relevance of environmental or lifestyle factors (Andersen et al ., ; Jorgensen, , ; Punab et al ., ; Richthoff et al ., ; Tsarev et al ., ; Paasch et al ., ; Mendiola et al ., , ; Fernandez et al ., ; Iwamoto et al ., ; Erenpreiss et al ., ; Priskorn et al ., ; Rodprasert et al ., ). However, most of these studies were conducted in one single, often urban, region, leading to results that cannot necessarily be generalized to represent the situation in the whole country.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Semen quality of young men in Switzerland: a nationwide cross‐sectional population‐based study

et al. 2019

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Background Sperm counts have been steadily decreasing over the past five decades with regional differences in the Western world. The reasons behind these trends are complex, but numerous insights indicate that environmental and lifestyle factors are important players. Objective To evaluate semen quality and male reproductive health in Switzerland. Materials and methods A nationwide cross‐sectional study was conducted on 2523 young men coming from all regions of Switzerland, recruited during military conscription. Semen volume, sperm concentration, motility, and morphology were analyzed. Anatomy of the genital area and testicular volume was recorded. Testicular cancer incidence rates in the general population were retrieved from Swiss regional registries. Results Median sperm concentration adjusted for period of sexual abstinence was 48 million/mL. Comparing with the 5th percentile of the WHO reference values for fertile men, 17% of men had sperm concentration below 15 million/mL, 25% had less than 40% motile spermatozoa, and 43% had less than 4% normal forms. Disparities in semen quality among geographic regions, urbanization rates, and linguistic areas were limited. A larger proportion of men with poor semen quality had been exposed in utero to maternal smoking. Furthermore, testicular cancer incidence rates in the Swiss general population increased significantly between 1980 and 2014. Discussion For the first time, a systematic sampling among young men has confirmed that semen quality is affected on a national level. The median sperm concentration measured is among the lowest observed in Europe. No specific geographical differences could be identified. Further studies are needed to determine to what extent the fertility of Swiss men is compromised and to evaluate the impact of environmental and lifestyle factors. Conclusion A significant proportion of Swiss young men display suboptimal semen quality with only 38% having sperm concentration, motility, and morphology values that met WHO semen reference criteria.

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“…The adjusted sperm concentration of young men reported from Germany was 42–46 million/mL (Paasch et al ., ), Japan, 59 million/mL (Iwamoto et al ., ), Spain, 62 million/mL (Fernandez et al ., ), and Lithuania, 55 million/mL (Punab et al ., ). The recently published study in men from Baltic countries examined during 2003–2004 reported median sperm concentration of 63 million/mL (Erenpreiss et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Therefore, the characteristics of the participating and non‐participating men were rather similar. However, Denmark had higher participation rate than Finland in the present study and the rate was also high for the previous military conscript studies (Andersen et al ., ; Jørgensen et al ., , ; Erenpreiss et al ., ). This may be due to the recruitment methods in Denmark that the invitation to participate in the study was performed by researchers at the site of medical examination for military service.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

An update on semen quality among young Finnish men and comparison with Danish data

et al. 2018

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Background Finnish men used to have higher semen quality than Danish men. However, recent studies showed that semen quality in Finland has declined, but it has been relatively stable in Denmark. Objective This study aimed to compare new data on semen quality of the young Finnish men to that of Danish men. Materials and methods In this cross‐sectional study, 18‐ to 19‐year‐old men residing in Turku, Finland and Copenhagen, Denmark, were invited to participate in 2008–2011. Each man filled in a questionnaire, provided one semen sample and underwent andrological examination. Semen samples were analyzed according to WHO. Multiway ANOVA was used to adjust semen variables for duration of sexual abstinence and age (and time from ejaculation to the start of semen analysis for sperm motility). Results Altogether 287 Finnish men and 873 Danish men participated in the study. The adjusted median sperm concentrations were 49 and 47 million/mL for Finnish and Danish men, respectively (p = 0.48). The adjusted median total sperm counts were 148 million in Finland and 146 million in Denmark (p = 0.87). The adjusted median percentages of morphologically normal spermatozoa were 6.9% in Finland and 6.5% in Denmark, p = 0.27. Finnish men had higher adjusted median percentages of motile spermatozoa (A+B+C) than Danish men (80% vs. 69%, p < 0.001). The proportion of men who had low semen quality (sperm concentration, percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa or percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa below WHO reference limits) was lower in Finland (25.4%) than in Denmark (34.6%), p = 0.004. Discussion Considerable percentage of men in both countries had low semen quality. The deteriorating semen quality in Finland may result in decreasing fecundity, which is a cause of concern. Conclusion The formerly high semen quality in Finland has converged to the lower Danish levels. Our findings demonstrate the importance of continuing surveillance of semen quality.

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Semen quality of young men from the general population in Baltic countries

Abstract: N/A.

Cited by 30 publications

References 23 publications

Erectile Dysfunction is Predictive Symptom for Poor Semen in Newlywed Men in Japan

Erectile Dysfunction is Predictive Symptom for Poor Semen in Newlywed Men in Japan

Semen quality of young men in Switzerland: a nationwide cross‐sectional population‐based study

An update on semen quality among young Finnish men and comparison with Danish data

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