Infertility. Something that knows no gender. Something that can disrupt self confidence, mental health, and even relationships at times. It used to be something that was blamed solely on the female half of the couple, sometimes still is, but the male partner could have a significant role to play in a couples’ childlessness as well. About 72.4 million couples around the world face infertility, out of which 40-50% is because of male factors. In India, the numbers scale to male infertility behind almost 40% of total infertility cases, the other 40% is due to female factors and the remaining 20% is reasons unknown. 

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But what is causing male infertility? Let’s skim through some of the major malefactors behind male infertility caused by their lifestyle.

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1. Psychological stress

We know infertility can cause stress: the social pressure, tests, diagnosis, treatments, failures, unfulfilled desires, and sometimes financial pressure. But is there any truth in stress causing infertility? There is no general consensus on measuring the impact of mental stress on male infertility, but stress, physical, biological or emotional, can reduce the potential of male infertility. Stress can reduce the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and testosterone pulsing, which in turn reduces spermatogenesis and sperm quality. 

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2. Obesity

The BMI of the male partner plays an important role in determining his fertility. With increased weight, a man risks lower testosterone, poor sperm quality and therefore reduced fertility as compared to men with a healthy weight. The odds of infertility increase by 10% with every 9 kgs. Thankfully, with regular exercise and a healthy diet, BMI can be maintained to a healthy level. 

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3. Alcohol, Smoking and recreational drugs

Smoking is responsible for causing DNA damage, aneuploidies, and mutations in sperm cells, which in turn causes the reduction in semen quality, impairment in spermatogenesis, sperm maturation, and normal sperm function. 

Meanwhile, chronic consumption of alcohol can result in decreased semen quality and decrease in male reproductive hormones and eventually decreased spermatogenesis. 

As far as recreational drugs are concerned, excessive marijuana smoking causes lower sperm count and lower sperm concentration. Cocaine is not only highly addictive, it is also responsible for sperm with abnormal morphology, lower motility and lower concentration.

Maybe lay off all these while looking to be a parent?

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4. Illnesses

Sometimes, some illnesses can gravely affect fertility. Varicoceles can reduce sperm quality and quantity, by causing swelling of the veins around the testes. Some infections can cause interference with sperm production, health and even block the sperm passage. These infections may include STDs such as HIV and gonorrhoea.  

Some tumours and cancers and their treatments can leave behind infertility. Genetic disorders such as Klinefelter’s syndrome or Kallmann’s syndrome can cause abnormal development of male reproductive organs. 

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These are a few of the major factors that contribute to male infertility. Fortunately, most of them can be reversed with treatments. Talk to your fertility specialist if you suspect having infertility problems. Early diagnosis and treatments can be worthwhile decisions to take. Let’s hope you make the right decision and seek help early so that your dream of parenthood comes true. 

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References

• Durairajanayagam D. (2018). Lifestyle causes of male infertility. Arab journal of urology, 16(1), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aju.2017.12.004
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/male-infertility/symptoms-causes/syc-20374773
• Kumar, N., & Singh, A. K. (2015). Trends of male factor infertility, an important cause of infertility: A review of literature. Journal of human reproductive sciences, 8(4), 191–196. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-1208.170370
• Katib A. (2015). Mechanisms linking obesity to male infertility. Central European journal of urology, 68(1), 79–85. https://doi.org/10.5173/ceju.2015.01.435
• Rooney, K. L., & Domar, A. D. (2018). The relationship between stress and infertility. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 20(1), 41–47. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2018.20.1/klrooney
• Ilacqua, A., Izzo, G., Emerenziani, G. P., Baldari, C., & Aversa, A. (2018). Lifestyle and fertility: the influence of stress and quality of life on male fertility. Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E, 16(1), 115. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-018-0436-9

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