No secular trend over the last decade in sperm counts among Swedish men from the general population
- PMID: 21382832
- DOI: 10.1093/humrep/der045
No secular trend over the last decade in sperm counts among Swedish men from the general population
Abstract
Introduction: Based on historical data, a decline in sperm counts during the years 1940-1990 has been suggested and aetiologically linked to a concomitant increase in the incidence of testicular cancer. This study, focusing on possible changes in sperm parameters among young Swedish men, during the past 10 years, was specifically designed in order to answer the question of whether there is a continuing decline in sperm counts.
Methods: During the period 2008-2010, 295 young (17-20 years; median 18) men born and raised in Sweden were recruited at the age they were supposed to undergo medical examination prior to military service. The participants filled in questionnaires, underwent andrological examination and delivered an ejaculate. Their semen parameters were compared with those of a similar cohort of men (n = 216) recruited in the year 2000-2001.
Results: No significant changes (means; 2000-2001 versus 2008-2010) in sperm concentration (78 × 10⁶/ml versus 82 × 10⁶/ml; P = 0.54), semen volume (3.1 ml versus 3.0 ml; P = 0.26) or total sperm counts (220 × 10⁶ versus 250 × 10⁶; P = 0.18) were found. The proportion of progressively motile spermatozoa also remained unchanged.
Conclusions: Between the years 2000 and 2010 we found no evidence of time-related deterioration of semen parameters among young Swedish men from the general population. This finding does not exclude that such a decrease may have taken place before year 2000. If the risk of testicular cancer is linked to the sperm counts, the increase in incidence of this malignancy should be levelling off in southern Sweden in the next 10-15 years.
Similar articles
-
Longitudinal changes in semen parameters in young Danish men from the Copenhagen area.Hum Reprod. 2005 Apr;20(4):942-9. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deh704. Epub 2005 Jan 7. Hum Reprod. 2005. PMID: 15640256
-
Iodine intake as a possible cause of discontinuous decline in sperm counts: a re-evaluation of historical and geographic variation in semen quality.Jpn J Vet Res. 2004 Aug;52(2):85-94. Jpn J Vet Res. 2004. PMID: 15481862 Review.
-
Have sperm counts deteriorated over the past 20 years in healthy, young Japanese men? Results from the Sapporo area.J Androl. 2001 Jan-Feb;22(1):40-4. J Androl. 2001. PMID: 11191086
-
Declining semen quality: can the past inform the present?Bioessays. 1999 Jul;21(7):614-21. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1521-1878(199907)21:7<614::AID-BIES10>3.0.CO;2-B. Bioessays. 1999. PMID: 10472188 Review.
-
Decline in semen quality among fertile men in Paris during the past 20 years.N Engl J Med. 1995 Feb 2;332(5):281-5. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199502023320501. N Engl J Med. 1995. PMID: 7816062
Cited by
-
Global, regional and national burden of male infertility in 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2019: an analysis of global burden of disease study.BMC Public Health. 2023 Nov 8;23(1):2195. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16793-3. BMC Public Health. 2023. PMID: 37940907 Free PMC article.
-
Microbial Dysbiosis and Male Infertility: Understanding the Impact and Exploring Therapeutic Interventions.J Pers Med. 2023 Oct 13;13(10):1491. doi: 10.3390/jpm13101491. J Pers Med. 2023. PMID: 37888102 Free PMC article. Review.
-
The association between serum estradiol levels and sperm DNA integrity.Environ Mol Mutagen. 2022 Jul;63(6):268-274. doi: 10.1002/em.22500. Epub 2022 Aug 25. Environ Mol Mutagen. 2022. PMID: 36054299 Free PMC article.
-
Spatiotemporal trends in human semen quality.Nat Rev Urol. 2022 Oct;19(10):597-626. doi: 10.1038/s41585-022-00626-w. Epub 2022 Aug 17. Nat Rev Urol. 2022. PMID: 35978007 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Decreased sperm counts in Swedish users of oral tobacco.Andrology. 2022 Sep;10(6):1181-1188. doi: 10.1111/andr.13198. Epub 2022 Jun 8. Andrology. 2022. PMID: 35642735 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Miscellaneous