Comparison of selected sperm parameters between 6,278 males in Poland and Ukraine

The phenomenon of deterioration of the quality of sperm in Poland and Ukraine has not been unequivocally evidenced by scientific research. Spermiogramms of males reporting for the first time to infertility treatment centres in both countries were examined, and trends in changes of selected sperm parameters analyzed during the period of study. Analyses covered the spermiograms of 6,278 men living in the examined regions for at least 3 years. It was found that mean sperm concentration of patients in the Lublin and the Lvov regions did not differ, but the total mean number of spermatozoa produced by Poles was higher than in Ukrainians. The quality of semen with respect to motility and sperm morphology was better in Ukrainian than Polish patients. Despite differences concerning concentration, the amount of sperm produced and percentage of spermatozoa showing progressive motility which occurred between individual years, no clear tendency was observed towards change of these parameters in a specified direction in both countries during the years examined. Among men examined in the Lublin Region, a tendency was noted towards decrease in the percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa in the ejaculate, while among patients from the Lvov Region an opposite tendency was observed.