Physical activity is not related to semen quality in young healthy men

Objective: To study the relationship of physical activity with semen quality among healthy young men from Spain. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: University and college campuses of Murcia Region, Spain. Patient(s): Healthy young men with untested fertility (n = 215). Intervention(s): A physical examination, blood and semen samples, and completion of a questionnaire. Main Outcome Measure(s): Semen quality parameters. Result(s): Physical activity was not related to semen quality parameters. The adjusted percentage differences (95% confidence interval) in semen parameters comparing men in the top quartile of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (>= 9.5 h/wk) with men in the bottom quartile (<= 3 h/wk) were 4.3% (-30.2%, 38.9%) for total sperm count, 7.2% (-30.6%, 45.1%) for sperm concentration, -2.42% (-6.53%, 1.69%) for sperm motility, and 12.6% (-12.0%, 37.2%) for sperm morphology. Conclusion(s): In contrast to previous research among athletes, these data suggest that physical activity is not deleterious to testicular function, as captured by semen quality parameters in this population of healthy young men in Spain. (C) 2014 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.