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Review
. 2021 Dec 29;19(1):328.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010328.

Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Male Fertility Potential: A Narrative Review

Renata Finelli  1 , Filomena Mottola  2 , Ashok Agarwal  1
Affiliations
Review

Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Male Fertility Potential: A Narrative Review

Renata Finelli et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Alcohol abuse disorder is a serious condition, implicating more than 15 million people aged 12 years and older in 2019 in the United States. Ethanol (or ethyl alcohol) is mainly oxidized in the liver, resulting in the synthesis of acetaldehyde and acetate, which are toxic and carcinogenic metabolites, as well as in the generation of a reductive cellular environment. Moreover, ethanol can interact with lipids, generating fatty acid ethyl esters and phosphatidylethanol, which interfere with physiological cellular pathways. This narrative review summarizes the impact of excessive alcohol consumption on male fertility by describing its metabolism and how ethanol consumption may induce cellular damage. Furthermore, the impact of alcohol consumption on hormonal regulation, semen quality, and genetic and epigenetic regulations is discussed based on evidence from animal and human studies, focusing on the consequences on the offspring. Finally, the limitations of the current evidence are discussed. Our review highlights the association between chronic alcohol consumption and poor semen quality, mainly due to the development of oxidative stress, as well as its genotoxic impact on hormonal regulation and DNA integrity, affecting the offspring's health. New landscapes of investigation are proposed for the identification of molecular markers for alcohol-associated infertility, with a focus on advanced OMICS-based approaches applied to the analysis of semen samples.

Keywords: alcohol-related disorders; ethanol; ethyl alcohol; infertility; male; spermatozoa.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The metabolism of ethanol. In the liver, ethanol is oxidized to acetaldehyde mainly by the enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, while, in the brain, the enzymatic activity of cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and catalase are more prominent. Acetaldehyde is further oxidized to acetate by the enzyme, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ethanol-induced mechanisms of cellular damage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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