Certain lifestyle factors are linked to higher rates of damage in the genetic material in men's sperm, a study suggests.
The
damage - which may stem from factors like obesity, stress and even
cell phone use - could affect men's ability to conceive as well as the genes
passed to their children, researchers say.
Semen analysis usually looks at the numbers and the condition of whole sperm. But the authors of a small study in Poland believe the degree of breakage, or fragmentation, in DNA strands in the sperm might be a better indicator of fertility. DNA carries the cell's genetic information and hereditary characteristics.
Men with
fragmentation have lower odds of conceiving naturally and through procedures
like in vitro fertilization, they write in the International Journal of
Impotence Research.
Researchers
have noticed before that lifestyle factors can influence the level of sperm DNA
fragmentation, said Ricardo P. Bertolla of Sao Paulo Federal University in
Brazil, who was not part of the new study.
"More
importantly, we do expect that environmental and lifestyle factors may
influence male fertility, but the degree of response is highly variable among
individuals," Bertolla told Reuters Health by email.
Dr.
Marian Radwan of Gameta Hospital in Rzgow, Poland, focused their study on 286
men under age 45 who were attending an infertility clinic.
Radwan
did not respond to a request for comment.
Most of
the men were overweight, nonsmokers, and with moderate levels of work stress
and life stress. Half had been using a cell phone for 6 to 10 years.
The men
all had normal semen concentrations, but older men and those with higher work
stress had more fragmentation of the DNA in their sperm.
Men who
were obese or had used a cell phone for more than 10 years also tended to have
a higher percentage of immature sperm than others.
Coffee or
alcohol use, smoking and physical activity levels were not linked to DNA
fragmentation, the researchers report.
There is
some evidence that DNA damage, beyond affecting a man's fertility, may be
passed along to offspring, raising their risk of gene mutations linked to
various illnesses, the study team notes.
Even men
with otherwise normal sperm parameters, like ejaculate volume and sperm
concentration, may have increased levels of free radicals and DNA damage in
their sperm, said Rima Dada of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in
New Delhi, who was not part of the new study.
Up to 40
percent of reproductive-age men have some issue with sperm production, Dada
told Reuters Health by email.
But they
wouldn't know it, because standard semen analysis does not involve testing for
DNA damage in sperm, she added.
"The
important thing is that majority of factors which cause oxidative stress which
result in DNA damage are due to our poor social habits and unhealthy lifestyle,
and simple lifestyle interventions and quitting smoking and doing yoga and
meditation can reduce both psychological stress and oxidative stress and
oxidative DNA damage," she said.
Bertolla,
however, is "currently not convinced" that cell phone use damages
sperm. "I do not see any definitive proof that this is true," he
said.
The new
study does not prove that any lifestyle factors cause DNA damage in sperm, only
that they are associated with each other, he noted.
"There
are some companies that produce antioxidants specifically designed to improve
male fertility, but it is my opinion that antioxidants are useful only for
those men that need it," he said. "I know this sounds very simple and
obvious, but there are many men that end up taking antioxidants without a real
need for them (or who will not benefit from them), and this ends up giving a
general notion that antioxidant supplementation will not work."
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