Male infertility is a health issue of much concern and has to be addressed from a lifestyle angle as well. Factors in male infertility cannot be negated as they do influence the conceiving potential of a man.
To examine the potential effects of lifestyle factors on male reproductive health. Evidence of rather a global decline in human sperm quality in recent decades has been no doubt accumulating. Environmental, occupational, and modifiable lifestyle factors may contribute to this decline. This review focuses on key lifestyle factors that are associated with male infertility such as smoking cigarettes, alcohol intake, use of illicit drugs, obesity, psychological stress, advanced paternal age, dietary practices, and coffee consumption. Other factors such as testicular heat stress, intense cycling training, lack of sleep, and exposure to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone use are briefly discussed.
Environmental, occupational, as well as modifiable lifestyle factors perhaps can contribute to male fertility decline. It is much to do with the key lifestyle factors that are associated with factors in male infertility such as smoking cigarettes, alcohol intake, making use of illicit drugs, obesity, psychological stress, advanced paternal age, dietary practices, as well as coffee consumption.
Off late, the crucial role that modifiable lifestyle factors tend to play in the development process of infertility has indeed generated a growing interest in this field of study, i.e. aging, psychological stress, nutrition, physical activity, caffeine, high scrotal temperature, hot water, and mobile telephone use.
Factors in Male infertility
- Diet and exercise – Poor nutrition and also lack of physical activity can affect reproductive functioning as well as hormonal balance.
- Smoking – Cigarette smoking lower sperm counts in men as well as increases the risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and birth defects in women.
- Alcohol – Excessive alcohol consumption can indeed impair ovulation in women and also sperm production in men, as well as increase the risk of birth defects.
- Drugs – Drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, as well as steroids, can interfere with fertility by rather affecting hormone levels, sperm quality, and ovulation.
- Stress – Chronic stress can indeed disrupt the normal functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, which does regulate the reproductive hormones cum cycles.
What more about factors in male infertility?
The review paper does highlight new advances in the field of male infertility, including the clinical management of lifestyle factors affecting male fertility, sperm assessment as well as the selection, and the latest advances in male reproductive genetics.
There are of course a wide variety of risk factors that could potentially influence sperm quality. These do include lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, obesity use of illicit drugs, psychological stress, APA, diet, as well as caffeine intake.
Purpose of review : Increasing attention to primary and secondary prevention of male infertility through modifiable lifestyle factors has gained traction amongst both patients and infertility specialists. In this review, the available evidence of modifiable lifestyle choices, specifically diet, physical activity, and body habitus, are evaluated.
Recent findings of male infertility : Studies have been examining diet, exercise/physical activity, and body habits are rather characterized by conflicting conclusions, difficult confounders, as well as imperfect endpoints to judge male reproductive potential. Yet, convincing trends have rather emerged implicating consumption of saturated fats, pesticide exposure, high-intensity exercise, and also extremes of body mass index as detrimental to male fertility. Data assessing modifiable risk factors and sub-fertility in male partners has rather emphasized the notion of moderation. Balancing dietary fat, moderation of physical activity, and also the management of a healthy body habitus does favor both improvements of semen quality as well as birth outcomes. These observations do provide actionable data for the reproductive urologist to better counsel men faced with infertility.
