Poor Quality Semen Could Mean More Likelihood of Other Health Ailments

The semen quality is linked to a higher chance of having Blood Pressure, Cardiac Ailments and hormonal disorders according to a new study.

In a study which was conducted on more than 9000 men who were suffering with fertility problems, a correlation was found between the defects in a man’s semen and the likelihood of the man having other health ailments.

The study was spearheaded by Michael Eisenberg, assistant professor of urology and director of male reproductive medicine and surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. He analyzed the medical records of 9,387 men, mostly between 30 and 50 years old. These men were evaluated at Stanford Hospital & Clinics in between 1994 and 2011 to ascertain the cause of their infertility.

The men routinely gave semen samples which were then evaluated on the basis of several factors like volume, concentration and the vitality of the sperms. In 50% of the male infertility cases the cause was abnormal semen. In the rest the fault was elsewhere. With the database, the researchers were able to examine and compare the overall health status of men who suffered from semen defects with those men who do not have any.

It was a fairly young group of men and the median age was 38. 44 % of all the men suffered from additional health issues besides the fertility problem.  A glaring link was found between poor semen quality and ailments of the circulatory system like hypertension, vascular disease and heart disease. As the number of defects in the man’s semen grew so did the risk of getting a skin disease or endocrine disorder.

The researchers found a statistically important association between the number of different ways in which a man’s semen was deficient and the likelihood of his having a considerable health problem.

Michael Eisenberg pointed out that 15% of all genes in the human genome are linked literally to reproduction, and many of these genes also have varied functions in other systems of the body. Michael is also exploring the possibility that treatment for a disease and not the disease itself is responsible for reproductive ailments.

Details of the study were published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.