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Published on: March 7, 2019
Associations between physical activity and semen quality in young healthy men
Paweł Jóźków1, Marek Mędraś2, Felicja Lwow3
1Department of Sports Medicine, University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, Poland.
Objective:
To evaluate whether the level of everyday physical activity is associated with semen quality in young men.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Universities, clubs, and societies.
Patient(S):
Young healthy men (aged 18-35 years) with unknown fertility (n = 177).
Interventions(S):
Collection of data on medical history, lifestyle factors (physical activity, nutrition, addictions), and environmental threats (exposure of gonads to cellular phones, laptops). Collection of semen samples.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Semen parameters.
Result(S):
Men who were physically more active (3rd and 4th quartiles) had a higher percentage of immotile sperm than less active subjects (1st and 2nd quartiles). The mean (95% confidence interval) percentages were, respectively: 53% (38%-69%) and 51% (41%-61%) versus 38% (28%-49%) and 39% (29%-48%). Other semen parameters were unrelated to physical effort.
Conclusion(S):
Physical activity might be associated with an altered percentage of immotile sperm in young, lean, educated men who have not fathered children.
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