Association Between Caffeinated Beverage Intake and Semen Quality in a Preconception Cohort

Few studies have examined the association between caffeine intake and semen quality among couples attempting conception.

To examine the effect of caffeinated beverage intake on semen quality.

We analyzed cross-sectional data from Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), a preconception cohort study. We invited US residents aged ≥ 21 years to perform at-home semen testing (n = 929 participants; 1668 samples). The outcomes included semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count (TSC), percent motility, and total motile sperm count (TMSC). Participants reported their past-month intakes of caffeinated coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks, from which we calculated caffeine intake. We used multivariable linear regression to estimate mean percentage differences (%D) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Median caffeine intake was 138 mg/day (interquartile range = 51-270 mg/day). No monotonic associations were observed for intakes of coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks. Comparing caffeine intakes of ≥ 200 versus < 100 mg/day, we found no consistent associations with semen volume (%D [95% CI]: 0.2 [-8.2, 8.6]), sperm concentration (-9.1 [-23.2, 7.5]), TSC (-10.1 [-23.7, 6.0]), % motility (2.4 [-3.5, 8.3]), or TMSC (-7.9 [-23.5, 11.0]).

Caffeinated beverage intake was not consistently associated with semen parameters in this preconception cohort.

Moderate caffeine intake has little effect on semen quality.