Decline of semen quality over the last 30 years in Uruguay

Autores: 
Lucía Rosa-Villagrán 1 , Natalibeth Barrera 2 3 , José Montes 2 , Carlos Riso 1 , Rossana Sapiro 4
Revista (o libro): 
Basic Clin Androl
Año: 
2021
Mes-dia: 
0506
issue, vol, paginas, etc: 
31(1):8
doi: 
10.1186/s12610-021-00128-6
PMID: 
33952196
Abstract: 
Background: Over the last years, there has been an increasing concern about a global decline in men's fertility. Specifically, some evidence indicates that sperm quality has decreased over the last years. However, reports showing the changes in sperm quality with time are inconsistent. Part of the contradictions between studies is attributed to geographical differences. Surprisingly, few studies include data from South American countries, creating a bias in the conclusions. This study aims to determine how sperm quality has evolved over the past 30 years in Uruguay. For this purpose, 317 medical records from allegedly healthy sperm donor candidates, aged between 18 and 36 years old, who voluntarily requested to be considered as sperm donors between 1988 and 2019, were analyzed. The studied variables were the following sperm parameters: semen volume, sperm cell concentration, total sperm number, progressive motility, vitality, and sperm morphology. A correlative statistical analysis was performed between seminal parameter values and the year data were collected. Results: We found a statistically significant decrease in sperm concentration and normal sperm morphology during the studied period. There was no decrease in vitality, seminal volume, and total progressive motility. Semen parameters were not associated with tobacco, drugs, or alcohol consumption. Conclusions: We conclude that the sperm quality of donor candidates in Uruguay decreased during this period. Further studies should be carried out to verify the occurrence of this phenomenon in the general population and find its possible causes.
Afiliaciones: 
1 Departamento de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Gral. Flores 2125, 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay. 2 Laboratorio de Andrología, Fertilab Laboratorio de Análisis Clínicos, Montevideo, Uruguay. 3 Laboratorio de FIV, Centro de Esterilidad Montevideo (CEM), Montevideo, Uruguay. 4 Departamento de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Gral. Flores 2125, 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay. rossanasapiro@fmed.edu.uy.
Enlace pubmed: 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33952196/
Enlace full text: 
https://bacandrology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12610-021-00128-6
Cita: 
Rosa-Villagrán L, Barrera N, Montes J, Riso C, Sapiro R. Decline of semen quality over the last 30 years in Uruguay. Basic Clin Androl. 2021 May 6;31(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s12610-021-00128-6. PMID: 33952196; PMCID: PMC8101031.