Semen quality in fertile men in relation to psychosocial stress.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between stressful life events and semen parameters.


METHODS
Cross-sectional analysis in a pregnancy cohort study.


METHODS
Prenatal clinics in five U.S. cities.


METHODS
Fertile men (n = 744) in the Study for Future Families, a cohort study of pregnant women and their partners.


METHODS
None.


METHODS
Sperm concentration, percent motile, and percent normal morphology and classification above/below World Health Organization (WHO) cutoffs for semen quality.


RESULTS
After adjusting for confounders, men reporting 2+ recent stressful life events had an increased risk of being classified below WHO thresholds for "normal" defined by concentration, motility, and morphology criteria compared with men reporting <2 stressful life events (odds ratio [OR] = 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18, 3.61; OR = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.04, 2.29; OR = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.02, 3.66 for concentration, motility and morphology, respectively). Men experiencing 2+ stressful life events had lower sperm concentration (log scale, beta = -0.25; 95% CI, -0.38, -0.11) and lower percent motile sperm (beta = -1.95; 95% CI, -3.98, 0.07), but percent normal morphology was less affected.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that stressful life events may be associated with decreased semen quality in fertile men. The experience of psychosocial stress may be a modifiable factor in the development of idiopathic infertility.
Gollenberg
Audra L
AL
Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
Liu
Fan
F
Brazil
Charlene
C
Drobnis
Erma Z
EZ
Guzick
David
D
Overstreet
James W
JW
Redmon
James B
JB
Sparks
Amy
A
Wang
Christina
C
Swan
Shanna H
SH
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult