Men with low sperm count are more likely to have ill health: study

A study shows that men with low sperm counts were 20 per cent more likely to have more body fat, higher blood pressure and more “bad” cholesterol. PHOTO | FILE

Men with low sperm counts are more likely to suffer ill health, a new study has shown.

Research presented at the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting in the US last month, showed that men with low sperm counts were 20 per cent more likely to have more body fat, higher blood pressure and more “bad” cholesterol.

TESTS

Of more than 5,000 men from couples that were infertile, those with low sperm counts were 12 times more likely to have low testosterone levels (otherwise known as hypogonadism), which reduces muscle mass and bone density and can be a precursor to osteoporosis, a condition that weakens the bones and makes them more likely to break.

The men in the study underwent physical exams and a variety of laboratory tests including sperm analyses. Low sperm count was defined as having less than 39 million sperm per ejaculate. Men who fell below this threshold were 1.2 times more likely to have a larger waistline, higher body mass index (BMI), higher blood pressure, higher LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides, lower HDL (good) cholesterol, metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions — high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels — that occur together, increasing one’s risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

SPERM COUNT

The research team explored reasons for the fall in sperm counts in some men, and suggested a possible link between semen quality and a range of environmental and lifestyle factors, including smoking, male obesity and stress, as well as exposure to harmful chemicals during the prenatal phase of a baby’s development, and exposure to pesticides in adulthood.

However, the study’s authors stressed that their research did not prove that low sperm counts cause metabolic problems, but rather that the two are linked.

According to Dr Alberto Ferlin, the study’s lead author, the findings show that men being treated for infertility should also get comprehensive health checks.

“Infertile men are likely to have important co-existing health problems or risk factors that can impair quality of life and shorten their lives. Fertility evaluation gives men the unique opportunity for health assessment and disease prevention,” he said.

“Men who are part of a couple having difficulties achieving pregnancy should be correctly diagnosed, and followed up by their fertility specialists and primary care doctor because they could have an increased chance of morbidity and mortality,” he added.

INFERTILITY

Nairobi-based fertility expert Dr Jane Machira said that in one in three couples struggling to get pregnant, the men have low sperm count or other problems with sperm quality.

Declining sperm count in men is not a new phenomenon, having first emerged some 25 years ago. While there are no studies specific to Kenya on male infertility, Dr Machira explained that global studies show an ever-increasing male infertility problem.

However, previous studies showing a decline in sperm counts and semen quality have been criticised as having included men whose age predisposed them to low sperm counts.

They have also been criticised for their sample sizes, bias in counting systems and other problems with research methodology.

Dr Machira said that some of the factors that affect a man’s sperm count are genetic predisposition, infections, injuries and even surgeries.

She noted that along the coast, many men who have a condition known as varicocele also present with low sperm counts, because of the condition that lowers sperm production and leads to a decline in sperm quality. A varicocele (similar to a varicose vein you might see in the leg) is an enlargement of the veins within the loose bag of skin that holds the testicles (scrotum).

“Some men with undescended testes may also present with low sperm counts,” she added.

For men with low sperm counts, getting more testosterone may not necessarily be the solution, because other health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes also cause or are associated with metabolic abnormalities, completing a vicious cycle.

“These metabolic abnormalities may contribute to low testosterone, and in turn, low testosterone may lead to low sperm counts,” said Dr Machira.