Modeling the contribution of the obesity epidemic to the temporal decline in sperm counts
https://doi.org/10.4081/aiua.2020.4.357
Accepted: October 15, 2020
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Objective: Total sperm count (TSC) has been declining worldwide over the last several decades due to unknown etiologies. Our aim was to model the contribution that the obesity epidemic may have on declining TSC. Materials and methods: Obesity rates were determined since 1973 using the WHO’s Global Health Observatory data. A literature review was performed to determine the association between TSC and obesity. Using the measured obesity rates and published TSC since 1973, a model was created to evaluate the association between temporal trends in obesity/temperature and sperm count. Results: Since 1973, obesity prevalence in the United States was increased from 41% to 67.9%. A review of the literature showed that body mass index (BMI) categories 2, 3, and 4 were associated with TSC (millions) of 164.27, 155.71, and 142.29, respectively. The contribution to change over time for obesity from 1974 to 2011 was modeled at 1.8%. When the model was changed to represent the most extreme possible contribution to obesity reported, the modeled change over time rose to 7.2%. When stratified according to fertility status, the contribution that BMI had to falling sperm counts for all comers was 1.7%, while those presenting for fertility evaluation was 2.1%. Conclusions: While the decline in TSC may be partially due to rising obesity rates, these contributions are minimal which highlights the complexity of this problem.
Thoma M, McLain A, Louis JF, et al. The prevalence of infertility in the United States as estimated by the current duration approach and a traditional constructed approach. Fertil Steril. 2014;99(5):1324-1331. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.11.037. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.11.037
Louis J, Thoma M, Sorensen D, et al. The prevalence of couple infertility in the United States from a male perspective : evidence from a nationally representative sample. Andrology. 2013;1(5):741-748. doi:10.1111/j.2047-2927.2013.00110.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2047-2927.2013.00110.x
Oehninger S, Ombelet W. Limits of current male fertility testing. Fertil Steril. 2019;111(5):835-841. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.03.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.03.005
Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino-Andrade A, et al. Temporal trends in sperm count: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2017;23(6):646-659. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmx022
Huang C, Li B, Xu K, et al. Decline in semen quality among 30,636 young Chinese men from 2001 to 2015. Fertil Steril. 2017;107(1):83-88.e2. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.09.035 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.09.035
Centola GM, Blanchard A, Demick J, Li S, Eisenberg ML. Decline in sperm count and motility in young adult men from 2003 to 2013: Observations from a U.S. sperm bank. Andrology. 2016;4(2):270-276. doi:10.1111/andr.12149 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.12149
Sengupta P, Nwagha U, Dutta S, Krajewska-Kulak E, Izuka E. Evidence for decreasing sperm count in african population from 1965 to 2015. Afr Health Sci. 2017;17(2):418-427. doi:10.4314/ahs.v17i2.16 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v17i2.16
Mishra P, Negi MPS, Srivastava M, Singh K, Rajender S. Decline in seminal quality in Indian men over the last 37 years. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2018;16(1):1-9. doi:10.1186/s12958-018-0425-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-018-0425-z
Craig JR, Jenkins TG, Carrell DT, Hotaling JM. Obesity, male infertility, and the sperm epigenome. Fertil Steril. 2017;107(4):848-859. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.02.115 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.02.115
Kasman AM, Giudice D, Eisenberg ML, D M. New insights to guide patient care: the bidirectional relationship between male infertility and male health. Fertil Steril. 2020;113(3):469-477. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.01.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.01.002
Eisenberg ML, Li S, Cullen MR, Baker LC, Ph D. Increased risk of incident chronic medical conditions in infertile men : analysis of United States claims data. Fertil Steril. 2015;105(3):629-636. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.11.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.11.011
Mehrpour O, Karrari P, Zamani N, Tsatsakis AM, Abdollahi M. Occupational exposure to pesticides and consequences on male semen and fertility: A review. Toxicol Lett. 2014;230(2):146-156. doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.01.029 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.01.029
Skakkebaek NE, Rajpert-De Meyts E, Buck Louis GM, et al. Male Reproductive Disorders and Fertility Trends: Influences of Environment and Genetic Susceptibility. Physiol Rev. 2016;96(1):55-97. doi:10.1152/physrev.00017.2015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00017.2015
Busetto G, Del Giudice F, Virmani A, et al. Body mass index and age correlate with antioxidant supplementation effects on sperm quality: Post hoc analyses from a double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Andrologia2. 2020;52(3):e13523. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/and.13523
Guo D, Wu W, Tang Q, et al. The impact of BMI on sperm parameters and the metabolite changes of seminal plasma concomitantly. Oncotarget. 2017;8(30):48619-48634. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.14950 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.14950
Ma J, Wu L, Zhou Y, et al. Association between BMI and semen quality: An observational study of 3966 sperm donors. Hum Reprod. 2019;34(1):155-162. doi:10.1093/humrep/dey328 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dey328
Group M of OS in E (MOOSE). Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology: a proposal for reporting. JAMA. 2000;283:2008-2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.283.15.2008
National Institute of Health and Department of Health and Human Services, Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies.
Hammiche F, Laven JSE, Twigt JM, Boellaard WPA, Steegers EAP, Steegers-Theunissen RP. Body mass index and central adiposity are associated with sperm quality in men of subfertile couples. Hum Reprod. 2012;27(8):2365-2372. doi:10.1093/humrep/des177 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des177
Afshin A, Forouzanfar MH, Reitsma MB, et al. Health effects of overweight and obesity in 195 countries over 25 years. N Engl J Med. 2017;377(1):13-27. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1614362 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1614362
Parmesan C, Yohe G. A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change. Nature. 2003;421:37-42. doi:10.1038/nature01286 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01286
Del Giudice F, Kasman A, Ferro M, et al. Clinical correlation among male infertility and overall male health: A systematic review of the literature. Investig Clin Urol. 2020;61(4):355-371. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4111/icu.2020.61.4.355
Del Giudice F, Kasman A, De Barardinis E, Busetto G, Belladelli F, Eisenberg M. Association between male infertility and male-specific malignancies: systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based retrospective cohort studies. Fertil Steril. 2020;ePub ahead. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.04.042
Heymsfield SB, Wadden TA. Mechanisms, Pathophysiology, and Management of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(3):254-266. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1514009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1514009
Jensen TK, Andersson AM, Jørgensen N, et al. Body mass index in relation to semen quality and reproductive hormones among 1,558 Danish men. Fertil Steril. 2004;82(4):863-870. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2004.03.056 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2004.03.056
Belloc S, Cohen-Bacrie M, Amar E, et al. High body mass index has a deleterious effect on semen parameters except morphology: Results from a large cohort study. Fertil Steril. 2014;102(5):1268-1273. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.07.1212 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.07.1212
Eisenberg ML, Kim S, Chen Z, Sundaram R, Schisterman EF, Buck Louis GM. The relationship between male BMI and waist circumference on semen quality: Data from the LIFE study. Hum Reprod. 2014;29(2):193-200. doi:10.1093/humrep/det428 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/det428
Duits FH, Van Wely M, Van Der Veen F, Gianotten J. Healthy overweight male partners of subfertile couples should not worry about their semen quality. Fertil Steril. 2010;94(4):1356-1359. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.05.075 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.05.075
MacDonald AA, Herbison GP, Showell M, Farquhar CM. The impact of body mass index on semen parameters and reproductive hormones in human males: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2009;16(3):293-311. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmp047 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmp047
Macdonald AA, Stewart AW, Farquhar CM. Body mass index in relation to semen quality and reproductive hormones in New Zealand men: a cross-sectional study in fertility clinics. Hum Reprod. 2013;28(12):3178-3187. doi:10.1093/humrep/det379 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/det379
Chavarro JE, Toth TL, Wright DL, Meeker JD, Hauser R. Body mass index in relation to semen quality, sperm DNA integrity, and serum reproductive hormone levels among men attending an infertility clinic. Fertil Steril. 2010;93(7):2222-2231. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.01.100 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.01.100
Ehala-Aleksejev K, Punab M. The different surrogate measures of adiposity in relation to semen quality and serum reproductive hormone levels among Estonian fertile men. Andrology. 2015;3(2):225-234. doi:10.1111/andr.12002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.12002
Keskin M, Budak S, Aksoy E, et al. Investigation of the effect of body mass index (BMI) on semen parameters and male reproductive system hormones. Arch Ital Urol Androl. 2017;89(3):219-221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/aiua.2017.3.219
Michalakis K, Mintziori G, Kaprara A, Tarlatzis BC, Goulis DG. The complex interaction between obesity, metabolic syndrome and reproductive axis: A narrative review. Metabolism. 2013;62(4):457-478. doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2012.08.012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2012.08.012
Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino- A, et al. Temporal trends in sperm count : a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2017;23(6):646-659. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmx022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmx022
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Downloads
Citations
