Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May 6;31(1):8.
doi: 10.1186/s12610-021-00128-6.

Decline of semen quality over the last 30 years in Uruguay

Lucía Rosa-Villagrán  1 , Natalibeth Barrera  2   3 , José Montes  2 , Carlos Riso  1 , Rossana Sapiro  4
Affiliations

Decline of semen quality over the last 30 years in Uruguay

Lucía Rosa-Villagrán et al. Basic Clin Androl. .

Abstract
in English, French

Background: Over the last years, there has been an increasing concern about a global decline in men's fertility. Specifically, some evidence indicates that sperm quality has decreased over the last years. However, reports showing the changes in sperm quality with time are inconsistent. Part of the contradictions between studies is attributed to geographical differences. Surprisingly, few studies include data from South American countries, creating a bias in the conclusions. This study aims to determine how sperm quality has evolved over the past 30 years in Uruguay. For this purpose, 317 medical records from allegedly healthy sperm donor candidates, aged between 18 and 36 years old, who voluntarily requested to be considered as sperm donors between 1988 and 2019, were analyzed. The studied variables were the following sperm parameters: semen volume, sperm cell concentration, total sperm number, progressive motility, vitality, and sperm morphology. A correlative statistical analysis was performed between seminal parameter values and the year data were collected.

Results: We found a statistically significant decrease in sperm concentration and normal sperm morphology during the studied period. There was no decrease in vitality, seminal volume, and total progressive motility. Semen parameters were not associated with tobacco, drugs, or alcohol consumption.

Conclusions: We conclude that the sperm quality of donor candidates in Uruguay decreased during this period. Further studies should be carried out to verify the occurrence of this phenomenon in the general population and find its possible causes.

RéSUMé: CONTEXTE: Au cours des dernières années, on s’est de plus en plus inquiété d’une baisse de la fertilité masculine. Plus précisément, certaines données indiquent que la qualité du sperme a diminué au cours des dernières années. Cependant, les rapports montrant les changements dans la qualité du sperme avec le temps sont incohérents. Une partie des contradictions entre les études est attribuée à des différences géographiques. Étonnamment, peu d’études ont inclue des données provenant de pays d’Amérique du Sud, ce qui crée un biais dans les conclusions. Cette étude vise à déterminer comment la qualité du sperme a évolué au cours des 30 dernières années en Uruguay. À cette fin, 317 dossiers médicaux de candidats donneurs de sperme prétendument en bonne santé, âgés de 18 à 36 ans, qui ont volontairement demandé à être considérés comme donneurs de sperme entre 1988 et 2019, ont été analysés. Les variables étudiées étaient les paramètres suivants du sperme: volume de sperme, concentration de cellules spermatiques, nombre total de spermatozoïdes, motilité progressive, vitalité, et morphologie des spermatozoïdes. Une analyse statistique corrélative a été effectuée entre les valeurs des paramètres séminaux et l’année de recueil des données. RéSULTATS: Nous avons trouvé une diminution statistiquement significative de la concentration de spermatozoïdes et de la morphologie normale des spermatozoïdes pendant la période étudiée. Il n’y a eu aucune diminution de la vitalité, du volume de sperme, et de la motilité progressive totale. Les paramètres du sperme n’étaient pas associés à la consommation de tabac, de drogues ou d’alcool. CONCLUSIONS: Nous concluons que la qualité du sperme des candidats donneurs en Uruguay a diminué au cours de cette période. D’autres études devraient être menées pour vérifier l’apparition de ce phénomène dans la population générale et en trouver les causes possibles.

Keywords: Male infertility; Semen analysis; Sperm donors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Graphic representation of the relationship between semen parameter values and time. Parameters included are: a volume (milliliter) n = 317 b sperm concentration, (millions of spermatozoa per milliliter of semen), n = 317 c vitality (percentage of viable sperm over the total) n = 209, d percentage of fast progressive motility (motility type a), n = 317 e percentage of slow progressive motility (motility type b), n = 317 f percentage of total progressive motility (motility types a + b), n = 317 g percentage of normal sperm morphology from 1988 to 1999 n = 65 h percentage of normal sperm morphology from 2000 to 2019 n = 252 i total number of spermatozoa per ejaculate (expressed in millions of cells), n = 317
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Graphic representation of the relationship between the donor’s sperm normal morphology and time. The mean of sperm considered normal was calculated in periods of 30 months and shown with time. a Graphic representation of the variation of the percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa between the period 1988–1999, n = 65. b Modifications of normal sperm morphology between 2000 and 2019, n = 252. One way ANOVA test, Tukey post-test *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01,***p < 0.001
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mascarenhas MN, Flaxman SR, Boerma T, Vanderpoel S, Stevens GA. National, regional, and global trends in infertility prevalence since 1990: a systematic analysis of 277 health surveys. PLoS Med. 2012;9:e1001356. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001356. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Skakkebaek NE, Jørgensen N, Andersson A-M, Juul A, Main KM, Jensen TK, et al. Populations, decreasing fertility, and reproductive health. Lancet. 2019;393:1500–1501. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30690-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. GBD 2017 Population and Fertility Collaborators Population and fertility by age and sex for 195 countries and territories, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018;392:1995–2051. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32278-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. GBD 2019 Demographics Collaborators Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2019: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020;396:1160–1203. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30977-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Skakkebaek NE, Rajpert-De Meyts E, Buck Louis GM, Toppari J, Andersson A-M, Eisenberg ML, et al. Male reproductive disorders and fertility trends: influences of environment and genetic susceptibility. Physiol Rev. 2016;96:55–97. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00017.2015. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources