Beware, weekly alcohol intake can weaken your sperms

A new research suggests that men who drink alcohol moderately every week may harm their sperm quality.

The study involved 1221 Danish men aged between 18 and 28 years. All of them underwent a medical examination between 2008 and 2012, to assess their fitness for military service, which is compulsory in Denmark. As part of their medical examination, the military recruits were asked how much alcohol they drank in the week before their medical exam (recent drinking); whether this was typical (habitual); and how often they binge drank, defined as more than 5 units in one sitting, and had been drunk in the preceding month.

Their semen sample was analysed for quality of sperms, and their blood samples were checked for levels of reproductive hormones. On an average, the participants drank 11 units of alcohol in the preceding week. Almost two thirds (64 percent) had binge drunk, while around six out of 10 (59 percent) said they had been drunk more than twice, during the preceding month.

The analysis showed that after taking account of various influential factors, there was no strong link between sperm quality and either recent alcohol consumption or binge drinking in the preceding month. But drinking alcohol in the preceding week was linked to changes in reproductive hormone levels, with the effects increasingly more noticeable the higher the tally of units.

Almost half (45 percent, 553) of the men said that the quantity of alcohol they drank in the preceding week was typical of their weekly consumption. And in this group the higher the tally of weekly units, the lower was the sperm quality, in terms of total sperm count and the proportion of sperm that were of normal size and shape, after taking account of influential factors.

The effects were evident from 5+ units a week upwards, but most apparent among those who drank 25 or more units every week. And total sperm counts were 33 percent lower, and the proportion of normal-looking sperm 51 percent lower, among those knocking back 40 units a week compared with those drinking 1-5.

Habitual drinking was associated with changes in reproductive hormone levels, although not as strongly as recent drinking, while abstinence was also linked to poorer sperm quality. This was an observational study, so no definitive conclusions could be drawn about cause and effect. And the researchers point out that the findings could be the result of reverse causation, whereby men with poor quality sperm have an unhealthier lifestyle and behaviours to start with.

Image source: Getty images

Source: ANI

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