Link Between Men’s Health and Semen Quality

A new assessment discovers male infertility as a outcome of poor semen quality may be connected with particular medical issues, like as peripheral artery disease, non-ischemic heart disease, Cerebrovascular disease, endocrine disorders and hypertension.

Investigators have associated poor semen quality to several medical problems, such as hypertension, non-ischemic heart disease and skin disorders.
Investigators have associated poor semen quality to several medical problems, such as hypertension, non-ischemic heart disease and skin disorders.

The investigation team – lead by Dr. Michael Eisenberg presented their results in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Earlier this year, in a different research lead by Dr. Eisenberg indicating that male infertility may raise mortality risk. But this recent study, Dr. Eisenberg states that, is the initial to discover a connection between poor semen quality and certain circulatory system problems.

“To the best of my understanding, there’s never been a research expressing this connection before,” he adds. “There are plenty of men who have high blood pressure, so knowing that connection is of huge interest to us.”

To achieve their results, the team examined data of 9,837 infertile men with an average age of 38 years. In between 1994 and 2011, all men presented semen samples from which scientists evaluated semen volume, motility and concentration.

Abnormal semen quality was identified to be the lead to infertility in about half of men. Therefore, the investigators were capable to evaluate the occurrence of other health issues among men who had semen irregularities with those whose infertility was triggered by other problems.

Dr. Eisenberg and co-workers identified that along with fertility issues, 44% of all men had other medical problems. Perhaps surprisingly, the team identified that men whose infertility was triggered by semen irregularities were more probably to have high blood pressure, Cerebrovascular illnesses, peripheral vascular and, non-ischemic heart condition, skin problems or endocrine problems.

What is more, the investigators identified that the more semen irregularities a man possessed, the greater his threat of having an extra medical condition.

Men’s entire health should be evaluated together with infertility treatment

Even though the causes behind these results are unclear, Dr. Eisenberg highlights that about 15% of genes in the human genome are connected to reproduction, with the greater part of these genes also actively playing a role in other systems of the human body.

In add-on, he notes that therapy for specific medical situations may be accountable for semen abnormalities instead of the medical situations themselves. This is a concept that the team ideas to investigate additional.

Dr. Eisenberg states that the team’s results show men’s health is “highly associated” with semen quality, and given the high occurrence of fertility, this must be considered during visits to fertility centers.

He adds:

“As we treat men’s infertility, we must also evaluate their entire health. That visit to a fertility clinic signifies a big possibility to enhance their treatment for other problems, which we now think could actually help solve the infertility they came in for in the first place.”