Is seminal quality worsening? A 20-year experience in Cordoba, Argentina

Purpose To assess the possible variations in semen quality during the last 20 years in Cordoba, Argentina, and to identify possible causal lifestyle or genitourinary factors. Methods Retrospective study of 23,130 patients attending an andrology laboratory. The 20-year period (2001-2020) was divided into four quinquenniums. Seminal parameters (sperm concentration, motility, morphology, viability, and membrane functional integrity) were classified as normal or abnormal according to WHO, and results were expressed as percentage of patients abnormal for each parameter per quinquennium. In addition, the percentage of patients per quinquennium exposed to the different risk factors (daily alcohol and/or tobacco consumption; occupational exposure to heat or toxics; history of parotitis or varicocele; and high body mass index, BMI) was reported. Results Patients included in our study did not show impairment in seminal quality over time. Beyond a transient decrease in normozoospermia in the second and third quinquennium, possibly explained by a parallel increase in teratozoospermia, other important parameters of the spermogram did not change. In fact, abnormalities in sperm concentration (oligozoospermia), total sperm count, viability and response to hypoosmotic test showed a decreasing trend over time. On the other hand, parotitis, varicocele, morbid obesity and regular exposition to heat/toxics were the factors more frequently associated with semen abnormalities; the last two increased their frequency over the study period. Conclusion The population included in this study did not show a clear impairment in semen quality during the last 20 years. The decreasing patterns found were associated with high BMI and exposure to heat/toxics.

Automated summary

The study found that there was no clear impairment in semen quality in Cordoba, Argentina over the last 20 years. Instead, there was a gradual improvement in some seminal parameters. High BMI and regular exposure to heat/toxics were more frequently associated with semen abnormalities, with their frequency increasing over the study period.