title: Evaluation of semen quality in 1808 university students, from Wuhan, Central China.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the semen quality of university students in Wuhan, the largest city in the world in terms of the number of university students. All student sperm donors recorded in the Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank from 1 March 2010 to 31 December 2013 were screened. At last, a total of 3616 semen samples from 1808 university student sperm donors were eligible and retrospectively analyzed. Each donor's semen parameters were averaged over two samples and compared with the World Health Organization criteria, and a generalized linear regression model was used to examine several determinants of semen quality. We found that the mean and median values were 3.0 ml and 2.8 ml for semen volume, 50.2 × 10 6 ml-1 and 50.0 × 10 6 ml-1 for sperm concentration, 148.1 × 10 6 and 142.1 × 10 6 for total sperm count, and 58.6% and 60.0% for total sperm motility. About 85.0% of donors had parameters that were all normal. Season and duration of abstinence were critical factors affecting semen quality. We also found a decrease in sperm concentration during the 4 years observation; however, this may not be a strong evidence to confirm the declining trend of semen quality. In conclusion, semen quality of university students in Wuhan was not optimal and should be paid high attention, long-term observation and further study should be carried out to confirm the present situation.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Tian-Qing
authors.initials: TQ
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Si-Heng
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Huang-Tao
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Qin-Yu
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Family Planning Research Institute; Reproductive Medicine Center, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Chang-Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Cheng-Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Xiong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D055101:Semen Analysis; D012746:Sexual Abstinence; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013334:Students; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014495:Universities; D014944:World Health Organization