Decline in semen quality in men in northern Taiwan between 2001 and 2010.
Semen quality is a key indicator of the male reproductive ability. The decline in semen quality has
been debated for several decades. However, data on decline in semen quality might be inconsistent given
factors such as geographical area, ethnicity, environmental exposure and lifestyle changes. This study
aimed to provide information on the semen quality of men in Northern Taiwanese. We recruited 7,187
male participants between 2001 and 2010 from a reproductive medical center. The age of the participants
ranged from 26 to 57 years, with a mean age of 36.9 ± 4.77 years. Semen analysis was performed through
standardized methods outlined in the World Health Organization laboratory manual. Increasing age
(per year) was significantly and negatively associated with semen volume (1.006 ml), progressive sperm
motility, rapid progressive sperm motility and sperm with normal morphology (reduction by 1.010%, 1.013%
and 1.002% per year, respectively). In addition, sperm concentration, semen volume, number of sperms,
progressive sperm motility, rapid progressive sperm motility, and sperm with normal morphology
were significantly reduced annually by 1.013 × 10⁶/ml, 1.015 ml, 1.028 × 10⁶, 1.021 %, 1.017% and
1.016%, respectively). Age-period-cohort (APC) analyses revealed that age and cohort had effects on reduction
of the progressive and rapid progressive sperm motility. Moreover, all the sperm parameter values were
significantly reduced annually. Our findings provide useful information for clinical practice and public
health investigations of male reproductive health.
School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Ching-Jen
CJ
Li
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, Republic of China.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Chii-Ruey
CR
Tzeng
School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Ruey-Yu
RY
Chen
School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Bor-Cheng
BC
Han
School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Ching-Ying
CY
Yeh
School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Ling-Chu
LC
Chien
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000639:trends*; D013624:Taiwan
cohort effect; semen; sperm motility