It is believed that of the roughly estimated 45 million couples in the world who suffer from infertility, 40% of cases are because of the male partner. As of April 2018, a whopping 27.5 million couples face infertility in India, most of these cases are urban and attributed to the stressful lives that corporate work brings with itself. Estimates also reveal that of those couples confirmed with infertility, hardly 1% opt for treatment, there is also a popular myth that infertility is a woman’s problem. However, mirroring the global trend, nearly 30%-40% cases of infertility in India are attributed to the male partner, with a further 30%-40% cases of infertility being attributed to both partners. While PCOS is a leading cause of infertility in women, men can become infertile due to excessive stress, smoking, drinking, if they had suffered from mumps in childhood, a severe injury to the scrotum and so on. All these factors can affect sperm health and life, but before we look into sperm count, we need to understand infertility.
What is Infertility?
It is important to understand how infertility is defined, once upon a time a woman was called infertile or barren if she wasn’t able to conceive a child within the first few years of marriage. However, marriages today are more pragmatic, and family planning is an active choice made by couples. Thus, women today have the luxury of time and options. Thus, in today’s day and age, a couple is said to be infertile, if the woman is not able to become pregnant within 12 months of them consciously trying to conceive a child. There are several misconceptions about pregnancy too. Most people believe that infertility has no solution, however, this is not true. In case of women, infertility can be caused because of PCOS, which is treatable, other issues can also be reversed with simple fertility treatments. Some infertile couples can also opt for In- Vitro Fertilization IVF, in men infertility, is caused because of low quality sperm, and quality of sperm is affected by the quality of life which includes stress levels, diet, and physical activity.
How is Male Factor Infertility Caused?
Nearly 40% of infertility cases in India are attributed to male factor infertility. However, there is very little knowledge about the possible risks for infertility, in fact, not much is known about the other causes of male factor infertility. In the following section we will be discussing male factor infertility in detail:
Stress:
Stress is a major cause of male factor infertility. Stress affects the hormonal balance of the body, thus, continuous stress over a prolonged period of time can affect sperm health.
Substance Abuse:
Use and Abuse of alcohol, illicit drugs, even chain smoking can negatively impact sperm health including quality as well as count. Additionally, drugs and alcohol can also cause erectile dysfunction.
Obesity:
Obesity can cause hormonal changes which can weaken the sperm count and quality, causing male factor infertility.
Exposure to Heavy Metals or X-Rays:
Exposure to harmful metals or X-rays can cause a decrease in sperm production, long term exposure to these elements may cause permanent reduction in sperm production.
Exposure to Heat:
Though the research content on this cause has been inconclusive, it is believed that exposing the scrotum to high levels of heat may damage the function of sperm production. It is believed that men who take one too many sauna baths, or work for long hours on their laptops may overheat their scrotums, leading to a decrease in the production of sperms.
Exposure to Harmful Chemicals:
Several pieces of research have revealed that men who have been exposed to harmful chemicals like pesticides for a long time, may suffer from infertility caused due to the mutation of sperms. Long term exposure to harmful chemicals may also reduce sperm production.
Autoimmune Disorder:
An autoimmune disorder is when the immune system turns hostile normal bodily functions, especially production of new cells. The immune system sees these new cells as aliens and attacks them in order to the protect the body. Autoimmune disease causing sperm death can cause infertility.
Celiac Disease:
Celiac disease is a disease of the digestive tract, caused because of gluten intolerance. This disease can potentially disrupt the production of sperms in the human body. However, this condition can be reversed by adopting a gluten free diet.
Abnormal Chromosomes:
Inherited genetic disorders like Klinefelter’s syndrome, Kartagener’s syndrome, Kallmann’s syndrome, and Cystic fibrosis may mutate the growth of reproductive organs or their functions leading to infertility.
Infection:
Infections can have a negative impact on the flow as well as production of sperms. Some infections can cause a reduction in sperm production, while others may restrict its movement. Most common infertility causing infections are STDs like gonorrhea or HIV.
Varicocele:
Varicocele is the medical condition caused by swelling and draining of testicles. It is a common fertility issue and is easily treatable. However, how varicocele causes infertility is still unknown but healthcare researchers have hypothesised that it could be related to abnormal regulation of the temperature by the testicles.
Tumors:
Tumors both benign and cancerous can have a direct impact on male infertility, by inhibiting sperm health either by attacking glands like the pituitary gland. Sometimes, chemotherapy and radiation can also harm sperm count and health.
Undeveloped Testicles:
This is a really curious phenomenon, in some men, either one or both the testicles do not descend completely into the testicle sack, this defect occurs during the fetal stage itself. Men who have suffered from this condition may have low sperm count.
Retrograde Ejaculation:
Retrograde ejaculation is the condition when semen enters the urinary tract, it can be caused by various things like surgeries, diabetes, spinal injury and so on. However, sperm can still be extracted from urinary tract and used for in-vitro fertilization.
How Does Sperm Count Contribute to Fertility?
As biology has informed us, a woman’s body releases an egg every month which causes the start of the menstrual cycle. This egg is ready for fertilization, but when a sperm does not fertilize the egg, the body discards it, starting the menstrual periods. Now in order to fertilize the egg during its prime, a man’s sexual organs release sperms. Millions of sperms race inside a woman’s body to reach the egg and fertilize. The ideal sperm count for successful fertilization is 15 million sperms per millilitre. If the sperm count is below this number, then it can cause male factor infertility.
What is a Semen Analysis Test?
A semen analysis test is conducted to analyse the health and quality of sperms. The fluid which contains sperms is known as “Semen”. Semen analysis is done to determine the following factors:
Sperm Strength
Sperm Count
Sperm Motility or sperm movement
How is a Semen Test Performed?
Semen analysis tests are fairly expensive deals, especially in developing countries like India where sexual health in itself is a very hushed up topic. Lack of knowledge, as well as demand, makes the creation and maintenance of suitable infrastructure expensive, which in turn makes the tests expensive. However, the biggest constraint is sample collection, as the semen sample collected should be uncontaminated and fresh, which means the patient has to come to centre for the process of sample collection. Masturbation is the most clean and effective way of sample collection, however, other options like ejaculating in a condom, and ejaculation conducted through electricity are also available for individuals.
The sample must be submitted to the lab within 60 minutes of ejaculation and should be at body temperature. Analysis is done manually, with the help of microscopes and the report is available within 24 hours.
What Are Home Sperm Tests?
Technology has taken people to the moon and back and latest technological developments are trying to protect the privacy of an individual. There are several types of home test kits available. While some of these tests only give an estimate of sperm count, others give an estimate of sperm motility. The debate has been around on which is better count or motility, but it is also an acknowledged fact that if the sperm can’t move fast enough, fertilisation will not take place, no matter how many sperms are there in one’s semen.
Keeping this in mind, the YO home sperm test kit gives a live analysis of your sperm motility. This test is 97% accurate, easy to conduct and takes less than 30 minutes. Not to mention, it protects one from unnecessary embarrassment, provides privacy and is cheap as well as reusable. The product is available at medlife.com, at attractive prices.
How to Conduct Sperm Test at Home?
Most home based sperm test kits are linked to mobile apps. Imagine it to be like one of those home based diabetes monitors, which come with a collector strip for blood samples. The kit comes with a small collector strip where a person can load their sample. This strip is connected to the mobile app. The app then guides the user through various steps of analysis and produces result in less than 30 minutes. The collector strip is easily removable, and there are additional strips available in the market, making the product reusable.
Research on Sperm Tests Performed At Home?
- In 2006, the journal Human Reproduction published the results of a research conducted by Bjorndahl L et al. The research was on examining the practicality as well as accurability of home based semen test kits. The researchers conducted that the tests revealed sperm motility, with an accuracy rate of 95% in just one hour. They even believed that this method is probably more preferable as it provides individuals with a sense of privacy.
- In 2010, the journal Human Reproduction again published the results of a research conducted by M.A.Coppola et al. The research examined the sperm count accuracy of home test kits. The researchers discovered that the accuracy of these kits was around 97%, and concluded that home sperm test kits were a more affordable and time saving alternative to traditional sperm tests.
With these research reports, we hope we have allayed any fear you harboured about the safety and accuracy of these tests. So don’t worry and order now!
News on Sperm Count:
1. Research Reveals: Marijuana Can Lower Sperm Count
Some years ago, research conducted by researchers from Denmark revealed that Cannabis and Marijuana can cause male infertility. Inspired by the results of this research, researcher Omer Raheem and his team from Washington University, USA conducted a study with over 400 participants who had been assessed for infertility. Raheem wanted to explore if the Denmark study results would be emulated in the USA also. The study included an assessment form filled out by the participants, these assessments were then cross-referenced with lab results, the study began in 2012 and was published recently.
According to the study, nearly 43% participants had consumed Marijuana at least once in their lives, while 18% identified as current users. The researchers reported damage in sperm count, health, motility, and other counts for users, both past and present, as compared to those who had never used marijuana at all. The researchers concluded that more research needs to be done to understand the negative results.
2. Choice of Underwear May Affect Male Fertility:
Earlier this year, the journal Human Reproduction published a research report conducted with over 600 participants, over a period of seventeen years at the Fertility Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital. During the course of the study, researchers collected data along with samples from participants. The research then revealed that boxers or more airy underwear lead to better sperm count, production and motility. Researchers also found that more open underwear enhance the production of a hormone called FSH, which further leads to the production of more sperms. The research revealed that as compared to men who wear briefs and jockeys, men who wear boxers had 25% higher sperm concentration and 17% higher sperm count. This revelation has led researchers to argue that after negating other factors, the heat generated in the testicles because of tight underwear leads to a fall in sperm count, and motility, leading to male factor infertility.