Study on the short-term effects of increased alcohol and cigarette consumption in healthy young men's seminal quality

Abstract

Many studies have reported a negative impact of lifestyle factors on testicular function, spermatozoa parameters and pituitary-gonadal axis. However, conclusions are difficult to draw, since studies in the general population are rare. In this study we intended to address the early and late short-term impact of acute lifestyle alterations on young men's reproductive function. Thirty-six healthy male students, who attended the Portuguese academic festivities, provided semen samples and answered questionnaires at three time-points. The consumption of alcohol and cigarette increased more than 8 and 2 times, respectively, during the academic festivities and resulted in deleterious effects on semen quality: one week after the festivities, a decrease on semen volume, spermatozoa motility and normal morphology was observed, in parallel with an increase on immotile spermatozoa, head and midpiece defects and spermatozoa oxidative stress. Additionally, three months after the academic festivities, besides the detrimental effect on volume, motility and morphology, a negative impact on spermatozoa concentration was observed, along with a decrease on epididymal, seminal vesicles and prostate function. This study contributed to understanding the pathophysiology underlying semen quality degradation induced by acute lifestyle alterations, suggesting that high alcohol and cigarette consumption are associated with decreased semen quality in healthy young men.

Figure 1. Study design and main outcome measures.

Unmeasured confounders occurring during the academic festivities include factors such as diet and circadian rhythm alterations. TP, time-points.

Figure 2

Box plot of the alcohol (A) and nicotine (B) consumptions, basic semen parameters (C–K), oxidative stress marker (L) and epididymal (M) and accessory sex glands (N and O) function markers at the different time points (TP). p-values of paired-samples tests are summarized in Table 2.

Figure 3. Early (TP2) and late (TP3) short-term impact on seminal quality of the abusive behaviors to which volunteers were exposed during academic festivities week.

TP, time-points.